JAM  14  j 


BR  100  .G76  1915 
G1953,Ge°r9e  Richmond'  1869- 
Religion  and  the  mind 


BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR 


THE  OUTLOOK  FOR  RELIGION 

12E30.      Net,   75  Cents 


Religion  and 
the  Mind 


By 

GEORGE   RICHMOND  GROSE 

President  De  Pauw   University 


THE    ABINGDON    PRESS 
NEW  YORK        CINCINNATI 


Copyright,  1915,  by 
GEORGE  RICHMOND  GROSE 


CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

Foreword 7 

I.     Christ  and  the  Intellect 9 

II.     Education  a  Religious  Obligation  .  .  19 

III.  The  Task  of  Christian  Education  .  .  26 

IV.  The  Failure  of  Intellectual  Cul- 

ture    36 

V.     The  Place  of  Religion  in  Education  42 

VI.     The  Growing  Mind  and  the  Chris- 
tian Ideal 53 

VII.     Intellectual   Honesty 61 

VIII.     The  Religion  of  the  Mind 69 

IX.     Education  and  Vision 78 

X.     Does  Education  Endanger  Faith  ? .  .  87 

XI.     The  Limitations  of  Knowledge 97 

XII.    The  Goal  of  Christian  Culture.  . . .  106 


FOREWORD 

THIS  little  book  is  the  outgrowth  of  twenty 
years'  contact  with  young  people  who 
want  to  have  faith  in  God  and  to  keep  on  their 
feet  intellectually.  They  have  both  the  will  to 
believe  and  the  unwillingness  to  quit  thinking. 
Honest  doubters  are  asking,  "Can  religion  and 
culture  live  together?"  The  question  is  not 
chiefly  academic  or  speculative.  It  is  vital. 
Unless  religion  can  be  made  intelligent,  and 
intellect  can  be  made  religious,  either  is  barren. 
In  these  pages  the  writer  seeks  to  express  his 
ever-deepening  conviction  that  education  and 
religion  must  unite  in  making  an  all-round  man. 
The  aim  is  to  set  forth  the  meaning  of 
Christian  education.  These  studies  make  a 
plea  for  fervent  piety  and  fearless  thinking. 
They  also  seek  to  impress  it  upon  young  people 
that  mental  culture  is  not  merely  a  privilege,  a 
luxury  for  those  who  feel  they  can  afford  it, 
but  is  a  high  moral  duty.     If  we  are  responsible 

7 


FOREWORD 

for  the  use  and  enlargement  of  material  wealth, 
we  are  even  more  responsible  for  the  cultivation 
and  consecration  of  our  mental  powers.  We 
need  to  stress  also  the  dominance  of  moral 
rather  than  material  motives  in  education. 

The  writer  was  honored  with  an  invitation 
from  the  late  Dr.  John  T.  McFarland,  a  few 
months  before  his  death,  to  furnish  a  series  of 
articles  for  the  Adult  Bible  Class  Monthly  on 
"Christ  in  the  Intellectual  Life."  The  author 
is  indebted  to  Dr.  Henry  H.  Meyer,  editor  of 
the  Sunday  School  publications  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  and  to  the  publishers 
for  the  privilege  of  publishing  these  studies  in 
their  present  form.  They  are  sent  forth  again 
with  the  hope  and  prayer  that  the  reader  may 
be  helped  to  find  that  the  things  of  the  mind 
and  the  things  of  Christ  are  most  worth  while. 
George  Richmond  Grose. 

Greencastle,  Indiana,  July,  1915. 


8 


CHRIST  AND  THE  INTELLECT 

THERE  is  a  popular  affectation  that  learn- 
ing and  religion  are  divorced.  It  is  fash- 
ionable in  some  circles  to  tolerate  religion  as  a 
harmless  superstition,  to  regard  worship  as  fu- 
tile, and  to  treat  the  teachings  of  the  Christian 
faith  as  if  they  had  no  intellectual  standing 
place.  In  the  general  break-up  of  conventional 
ideas  many  intelligent  people  are  sitting  in  the 
seat  of  the  scornful.  Consequently,  they  are 
missing  the  significance  of  religion  for  life. 

On  the  part  of  others  there  is  an  opposite 
attitude.  They  attempt  to  exalt  religion  by 
discounting  culture.  The  college  is  supposed  to 
detract  from  the  glory  of  the  church.  The 
things  of  the  mind  are  sneered  at  while  the 
things  of  the  spirit  are  lauded. 

Here  are  two  present-day  tendencies  running 
9 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

side  by  side,  the  one  glorifying  the  intellect, 
the  other  glorifying  Christ.  Irreverent  culture 
sets  itself  over  against  ignorant  piety.  The 
result  is  alike  unfortunate  both  for  culture  and 
for  religion.  Education  without  ethical  sense  or 
spiritual  motive  develops  a  one-sided  character. 
Mental  keenness  and  power  without  right  guid- 
ance and  moral  responsibility  is  a  peril  to 
society;  while  ignorant  goodness  is  a  barrier  to 
all  progress.  Though  the  statement  may  be 
exaggerated,  Newman  Smythe  was  at  least  look- 
ing in  the  direction  of  an  important  truth  when 
he  declared  that  the  most  dangerous  man  is  the 
ignorant  good  man,  whose  goodness  floats  his 
ignorance,  while  his  ignorance  does  its  deadly 
work. 

What  is  the  relation  of  culture  and  religion? 
What  has  education  of  the  mind  to  do  with 
Christian  character?  Is  there  vital  connection 
between  intellectual  efficiency  and  spiritual  ex- 
perience? Has  culture  moral  obligations  and 
spiritual  tasks?  Is  there  a  religion  of  the  mind 
as  well  as  a  religion  of  the  heart?  Has  Jesus  a 
message  for  the  mind  which  is  indispensable  to 
higher  living?  The  answer  to  these  questions 
10 


CHRIST  AND  THE  INTELLECT 

is  the  task  to  which  the  writer  will  address  him- 
self in  this  series  of  studies. 

In  considering  the  place  of  the  mind  in  reli- 
gion it  is,  first  of  all,  important  to  avoid  a 
clumsy  sort  of  psychology  which  divides  up  the 
human  faculties  into  so  many  closed  compart- 
ments. When  we  speak  of  the  intellect,  and 
emotions,  and  will,  we  do  not  mean  that  there 
is  any  hard  and  fast  separation  of  these  human 
powers.  The  intellect  is  the  whole  man  think- 
ing. The  heart  is  the  whole  man  feeling.  The 
will  is  the  whole  man  determining.  By  the 
religion  of  the  mind,  then,  we  simply  mean 
religion  in  relation  to  a  man's  thinking. 

But  'does  Christ  address  himself  specifically 
and  definitely  to  a  man's  thought-life?  There 
can  be  no  question  about  the  appeal  of  Christ 
to  the  heart.  The  symbolism  of  religion,  the 
rituals  of  worship,  the  hymns  of  the  church, 
and  the  prayers  of  the  devout,  all  appeal  might- 
ily to  the  emotions.  Nor  is  there  any  doubt 
that  religion  has  to  do  with  the  will.  If  Mat- 
thew Arnold  is  right  in  saying  that  conduct  is 
three  fourths  of  life,  it  is  equally  true  that  what 
a  man  wills  is  the  larger  part  of  religion.  "He 
11 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

that  wills  to  do  his  will  shall  know  of  the 
teaching  whether  it  be  of  God  or  whether  I 
speak  of  myself"  is  the  Master's  test  both  of 
religious  truth  and  life.  While  religion  appeals 
to  the  will  through  the  emotions,  its  first  ap- 
proach is  to  the  intellect.  Jesus's  first  word 
was  "Come  and  see."  "Investigate,  examine, 
make  the  experiment.  My  teaching  is  to  be 
tested  in  the  laboratory  of  life."  The  New 
Testament  bristles  with  apostolic  appeals  to  the 
mind:  "Think  on  these  things";  "Test  the 
spirits";  "Study  to  show  thyself  approved  unto 
God,  a  workman  that  needs  not  to  be  ashamed, 
rightly  dividing  the  truth";  "Ye  shall  know  the 
truth";  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy  mind."  These  are  only  representa- 
tive scriptural  declarations  of  our  religious  re- 
sponsibility for  the  use  of  the  mind. 

Further:  the  life  of  Jesus  illustrates  the  vital 
relation  between  intellectual  culture  and  spirit- 
ual character  and  efficiency.  He  was  not 
educated  in  the  schools,  but  his  mind  was 
thoroughly  disciplined.  For  eighteen  years  at 
least  he  was  in  close  contact  with  nature,  with 
the  life   of  his   country,   and   with   the  great 

12 


CHRIST  AND  THE  INTELLECT 

minds  of  Jewish  history.  The  Gospel  of  Luke 
contains  a  biographical  clue  to  the  marvelous 
intellectual  grasp  and  spiritual  influence  of 
Jesus.  "And  Jesus  advanced  in  wisdom  and 
stature  and  in  favor  with  God  and  men." 
This  is  the  story,  not  of  a  human  prodigy,  but 
of  the  normal  physical,  intellectual,  and  spirit- 
ual development  of  a  perfect  manhood.  His 
matchless  insight  into  truth,  his  grasp  upon  the. 
principles  of  the  higher  life,  his  power  of  in- 
vigorating and  transforming  the  lives  of  men 
are  a  tribute  to  a  cloudless  mind  and  a  stainless 
soul. 

Now  to  be  more  specific,  what  has  Christ  to 
do  with  the  intellect?  Or,  what  is  the  place 
of  the  mind  in  religion? 

First  of  all,  the  facts  of  Christian  experi- 
ence must  be  intellectually  interpreted.  The 
doctrines  of  Christianity  are  primarily  thought 
problems.  The  eternal  hope  is  constantly 
challenged  to  give  a  reason.  Every  genera- 
tion must  make  its  own  creed,  and  every 
individual  must  think  through  and  work  out 
his  own  faith.  A  living  faith  cannot  be  handed 
down  by  inheritance.  We  no  sooner  come  to 
13 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

an  experience  of  spiritual  things  than  the  mind 
must  relate  this  experience  to  other  facts  of 
life.  In  other  words,  religion  cannot  live  and 
grow  strong  without  a  theology.  Character 
must  have  some  basal  creed  upon  which  to  rest. 
Life  springs  out  of  truth.  The  supreme  task  of 
the  mind,  therefore,  is  to  discover  the  truth 
which  makes  men  free,  and  to  interpret  the 
truth  which  will  create  and  sustain  the  fullest 
and  richest  life. 

There  is  manifestly,  then,  no  more  important 
thing  to  do  than  to  discover  the  essential 
teachings  of  Christianity  and  to  set  them  ablaze 
along  the  common  ways  of  men.  To  seize  the 
cardinal  doctrines  of  our  holy  faith,  and  to 
distinguish  them  from  the  accumulated  growth 
of  nonessentials,  until  men  come  to  know  Christ 
— that  is  a  work  of  supreme  urgency.  And  that 
is  just  the  task  of  the  Christian  mind.  There 
can  be  no  vigorous  religion  without  a  vital  theol- 
ogy, and  theology  cannot  be  vitalizing  unless  it 
is  rational.  If  there  is  lack  of  the  heroic  and 
the  sacrificial  elements  in  Christian  living  to- 
day, it  is  because  the  religious  thinking  of  the 
time  is  flabby  and  boneless.     When  Christian 

14 


CHRIST  AND  THE  INTELLECT 

believers  think  intensely  and  sanely  upon  the 
mystery  of  godliness,  then  may  we  expect  to 
see  the  wonders  of  redemption  multiplied. 

Again,  the  duties  of  the  Christian  life,  none 
the  less  than  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  are 
primarily  problems  for  the  mind.  Take,  for 
example,  the  foremost  duty  which  Jesus  com- 
mands— the  love  of  our  neighbor.  When  the 
impulse  toward  Christian  neighborliness  has 
been  implanted  in  a  man's  life,  what  specific 
things  is  he  to  do?  And  how  is  he  to  do  them? 
The  spirit  of  good  will  and  of  helpfulness  which 
discovers  the  victim  of  robbers  by  the  roadside 
is  the  supreme  thing,  of  course,  but  what  will 
love  command  the  good  Samaritan  to  do  for 
the  bleeding  sufferer?  Dressing  wounds  and 
caring  for  the  injured  is  a  task  requiring 
thought  and  skill.  It  is  not  enough  to  love  the 
wayside  victim  with  pitying  sentiment;  he  must 
be  loved  with  thoughtful  care.  In  other  words, 
the  very  first  steps  in  Christian  duty  require 
hard,  earnest  thinking.  In  the  doing  of  the 
plain  everyday  duties  there  is  a  large  place  for 
the  mind. 

And  how  else  than  by  the  eyes  of  an  en- 
15 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

lightened  understanding  do  we  discover  the 
mighty  tasks  of  Christian  civilization?  Many 
evils  are  challenged,  many  customs  are  under 
the  ban  of  public  sentiment,  many  improve- 
ments in  industrial  conditions  are  demanded  be- 
cause men  are  loving  God  with  the  mind.  The 
impulse  of  brotherly  love  demands  freedom  for 
the  slave;  but  how  to  use  his  freedom  is  a 
problem  for  the  mind  to  work  out.  How  to 
destroy  the  saloon  and  the  traffic  in  human 
honor  and  virtue,  how  to  distribute  equitably 
the  profits  of  industry,  how  to  cure  the  wretch- 
edness of  poverty,  how  to  make  the  waste 
places  of  the  earth  blossom  with  roses,  and  to 
build  highways  for  the  righteous — these  are 
problems  for  the  Christian  mind. 

Jesus  at  twelve  years  of  age  is  hearing  the 
learned  men  of  the  temple  and  asking  them 
questions.  At  the  same  time  he  announces  the 
inmost  conviction  of  his  life — his  allegiance  to 
the  divine  will.  "I  must  be  about  my  Father's 
business."  Hofmann's  famous  painting,  "Christ 
in  the  Temple,"  finely  interprets  this  incident 
in  the  life  of  the  Master.  The  youth  with  up- 
turned face  and  eager  eye  is  seeking  after 
16 


CHRIST  AND  THE  INTELLECT 

truth,  while  at  the  same  time  he  is  in  his 
Father's  house.  The  light  of  learning  and  the 
joy  of  divine  fellowship  are  both  in  Jesus's 
face. 

This  is  both  history  and  parable.  That  early 
temple  incident  in  the  life  of  Jesus  must  be 
reproduced  in  the  life  of  every  man.  Open- 
minded  inquiry,  earnest  seeking  for  the  truth 
in  the  presence  of  the  scholars,  a  determination 
to  know  all  that  can  be  known,  the  intellect 
fearlessly  pushing  out  into  the  farthest  bounds 
of  human  knowledge,  and  yet,  taking  every 
step  in  conscious  obedience  to  God — this  was 
the  spirit  of  the  Master.  And  this  is  the  spirit 
of  Christian  culture.  If  religion  is  to  be  kept 
sane  and  strong,  the  mind  must  not  cease  to 
ask  questions.  The  problems  of  life  cannot  be 
outflanked,  they  must  be  met.  They  can  be 
met  only  by  hard,  earnest  thinking.  It  is  mere 
cant  for  men  to  pray  for  a  solution  of  their 
problems  when  they  ought  to  think.  On  the 
other  hand,  life  cannot  be  lived  hopefully  and 
triumphantly  by  asking  and  answering  ques- 
tions. God  must  be  its  background  and  its 
foreground.  From  him  we  must  take  our  com- 
17 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

mands.  Learning  and  piety  must  never  be 
divorced.  The  college  and  the  church  must 
stand  near  by  each  other.  Eager  for  truth 
the  reverent  intellect  evermore  utters  its  deep- 
est conviction — "I  must  be  about  my  Father's 
business." 


18 


II 

EDUCATION  A  RELIGIOUS  OBLIGATION 

THERE  is  no  longer  serious  doubt  as  to  the 
value  of  education  for  the  practical  ends 
of  life.  The  trained  mind  and  the  skilled  hand 
are  in  demand  because  they  produce  results. 
And  because  education  puts  into  men's  hands 
keener  tools  for  doing  the  world's  work,  and 
educated  labor  turns  out  a  larger  and  better 
product,  the  practical  mind  of  the  age  is  calling 
for  the  school  and  college.  There  is  no  escap- 
ing the  fact  that  to-day  the  uneducated  man 
does  not  have  one  chance  in  a  hundred  for 
business  and  professional  success.  The  ma- 
terial conquest  of  the  earth  which  has  been 
made  in  the  last  century  would  have  been 
impossible  but  for  the  power  of  the  trained 
mind.  The  enormous  multiplication  of  wealth, 
through  the  application  of  scientific  knowledge 
19 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

to  the  problems  of  manufacture  and  production 
and  distribution,  the  rapid  extermination  of 
disease  by  medical  science  and  surgery  are  the 
achievements  of  the  educated  mind.  The 
trained  intellect  is  the  one  indispensable  instru- 
ment of  success  everywhere.  It  is  the  recogni- 
tion of  these  facts  which  has  led  the  state  to 
provide  in  our  day  a  magnificent  system  of 
public  school  instruction.  The  obligation  to 
extend  learning  for  the  sake  of  efficiency  in 
doing  the  world's  work  is  quite  universally 
recognized. 

But  it  is  a  misfortune  that  education  has 
been  so  largely  regarded  as  an  expedient,  or  as 
a  means  to  a  material  end.  The  utilitarian 
conception  of  education  has  made  for  coarse 
materialistic  views  of  life  and  for  cheap  and 
superficial  educational  methods.  It  is  true  that 
thorough  intellectual  discipline  is  indispensable 
as  a  preparation  for  the  tasks  of  life.  It  is 
tremendously  true  that  the  culture  of  the  mind 
is  a  moral  and  religious  obligation. 

The  moral  obligation  of  intelligence  springs, 
first  of  all,  out  of  the  mind's  possibilities  of  de- 
velopment. There  is  no  question  about  the 
20 


EDUCATION  A  RELIGIOUS  OBLIGATION 

value  of  physical  training  for  equipment  for 
certain  practical  tasks.  But,  beyond  this,  the 
very  fact  that  the  human  body  is  capable  of 
the  athlete's  strength  and  the  soldier's  en- 
durance and  the  charms  of  beauty  calls  might- 
ily upon  everyone  to  develop  the  physical 
powers.  And  just  because  no  limit  has  yet 
been  set  in  the  development  of  the  human 
intellect  education  is  an  inescapable  moral  obli- 
gation. It  would  be  a  crime  against  civilization 
for  a  landowner  to  attempt  to  hold  a  vast  tract 
of  land  in  the  heart  of  a  fertile  country,  refusing 
to  cultivate  it,  or  to  grant  a  franchise  to  high- 
ways and  industries.  And  yet  that  offense 
against  society  is  as  nothing  compared  to  the 
moral  trifling  of  one  who  neglects  or  refuses  to 
open  the  mind  to  truth,  and  to  send  it  forth 
upon  its  limitless  destiny.  If  one  has  undevel- 
oped capacities,  or  unrealized  possibilities,  his 
first  great  duty  is  to  find  himself,  to  make 
himself,  to  become  a  man.  Man  is  still  in  the 
making. 

Again,  if  we  take  the  life  of  Jesus  as  a  guide, 
the  obligation  to  enrich  the  mind  becomes  high 
and  commanding.    We  are  apt  to  overlook  his 
21 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

education.  The  evangelists  set  his  three  years 
of  public  ministry  in  the  foreground  and  his 
eighteen  years  of  preparation  in  the  back- 
ground. They  devote  scores  of  pages  to  a 
record  of  what  he  spoke  and  wrought,  but  only 
one  sentence  to  the  story  of  his  education — 
"And  Jesus  advanced  in  wisdom  and  stature, 
and  in  favor  with  God  and  man."  Here  is  the 
biographical  clue  to  his  matchless  life.  He  spent 
eighteen  years  in  God's  best  schools  in  prepara- 
tion for  three  years  of  work — six  years  of 
preparation  for  every  one  of  work.  There  is 
no  indication  in  the  Gospels  that  his  matchless 
powers  were  a  prodigy.  They  were  rather  a 
growth.  "The  child  grew  and  waxed  strong, 
becoming  full  of  wisdom:  and  the  grace  of  God 
was  upon  him."  His  youth  was  a  period  of 
intellectual  culture  and  spiritual  enrichment. 
Never  has  any  human  life  been  so  rigidly  held 
to  the  great  task  of  self-becoming  and  self- 
enriching,  and  self -sanctifying.  The  eighteen 
patient,  silent  years  of  Jesus  mean  nothing 
more  significant  to  us  than  their  emphasis 
upon  the  religious  obligation  of  thorough  self- 
development. 

22 


EDUCATION  A  RELIGIOUS  OBLIGATION 

The  religious  obligation  of  personal  culture 
becomes  even  more  impressive  when  we  con- 
sider it  from  the  standpoint  of  the  service  we 
are  called  upon  to  give  to  the  world.  Culture 
is  not  to  be  sought  chiefly  as  a  means  of  ma- 
terial success  nor  as  a  personal  adornment. 
Rich  as  are  the  joys  of  a  cultivated  mind, 
education  is  not  for  its  own  sake.  The  glory 
of  the  scholar  is  in  his  consecration  to  the 
service  of  his  fellows.  This  was  Longfellow's 
ideal  of  the  educated  man.  "Where  shall  the 
scholar  live?  In  solitude  or  in  society?  In  the 
green  stillness  of  the  country,  where  he  can 
hear  the  heart  of  nature  beat,  or  in  the  dark, 
gray  city,  where  he  can  feel  and  hear  the 
throbbing  heart  of  man?  I  make  answer  for 
him  and  say,  Tn  the  dark,  gray  city.' '  And 
this  was  the  Master's  thought  of  his  own 
obligation.  "For  their  sakes  I  sanctify  my- 
self." "I  set  myself  apart — I  educate  myself. 
For  what?  For  their  sakes — for  the  service 
which  I  can  give  to  the  world."  Is  not  this  the 
law  of  all  true  life?  It  is  the  largest  self- 
realization,  and  the  richest  culture  for  the  sake 
of  the  greatest  service  of  our  fellow  men.  If 
23 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

society  is  to  be  served,  and  if  the  world  is  to  be 
saved,  it  must  be  done  by  men  who  come  to 
their  task  with  mind  enriched  by  knowledge 
and  character  nurtured  by  religion.  There  is 
no  human  enterprise  that  calls  for  so  thorough 
preparation  as  the  service  of  our  fellow  men. 
The  highest  art  is  the  art  of  doing  good.  Bishop 
Vincent,  apostle  of  modern  culture  and  Chris- 
tian faith,  once  said  in  a  college  chapel  talk: 
"Young  men,  don't  be  in  such  a  hurry  to  get 
out  to  save  the  world.  Take  sufficient  time  to 
complete  your  preparation  for  your  work.  The 
world  will  need  saving  four  years  from  now, 
and  you  will  then  be  more  capable  of  saving 
the  world."  There  is  no  place  to-day  for 
ignorant  goodness.  Men  must  not  only  be 
good,  but  they  must  be  good  for  something. 
If  the  workman  of  God  is  not  to  be  ashamed, 
he  must  be  thoroughly  fitted  for  every  good 
work.  The  great  movements  of  human  uplift 
have  centered  about  some  high-souled  person- 
ality. The  new  epochs  in  philanthropy,  in  re- 
form, and  in  religion  have  been  created  by 
minds  that  first  made  themselves  strong.  The 
missionary  crusade  of  the  first  century  sprang 
24 


EDUCATION  A  RELIGIOUS  OBLIGATION 

out  of  the  imperial  mind  of  the  apostle  Paul. 
The  leaders  of  the  Reformation  were  men  of 
eminent  learning.  The  Wesley  an  revival  of  the 
eighteenth  century  had  its  beginning  in  an 
Oxford  Club.  The  measure  of  a  man's  service 
to  the  world  is  the  fullness  of  his  own  life. 
Achievement  never  rises  higher  than  person- 
ality. What  a  man  does  is  never  greater  than 
what  he  is. 


25 


Ill 

THE  TASK  OF  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION 

WHAT  is  the  chief  aim  of  all  education? 
There  is  a  wide  difference  of  opinion. 
One  answers,  "The  purpose  of  the  schools  is  to 
fit  men  for  vocational  efficiency."  Another 
says,  "Culture  is  for  its  own  sake."  Still 
another  holds  that  the  main  business  of  learn- 
ing is  to  enrich  life  and  to  develop  character. 
Now,  it  makes  a  vast  deal  of  difference  whether 
our  educational  institutions  are  seeking  to  pre- 
pare men  for  a  livelihood  or  for  the  living  of 
life.  If  the  college  is  a  mere  "adjunct  of  the 
shop  and  the  farm,"  its  claim  is  altogether 
different  than  if  it  is  set  to  furnish  men  for 
worthful  and  heroic  living.  What  is  the  su- 
preme task  of  Christian  education? 

The  first  aim  of  learning  is  to  make  men  intel- 
lectually efficient.     The  latent  energies  of  the 
26 


TASK  OF   CHRISTIAN    EDUCATION 

human  intellect  must  be  aroused  and  developed. 
The  thing  of  first  importance  is  for  a  man  to 
discover  his  mind  and  then  "learn  how  to  make 
full  and  productive  use  of  his  discovery."  There 
is  no  need  more  imperative  than  that  men 
should  be  able  to  think  through  things  for 
themselves,  and  to  be  able  to  discriminate 
between  the  essentials  and  the  nonessentials, 
and  prove  the  things  which  are  of  permanent 
worth.  It  is  not  enough  to  stock  men  with 
knowledge;  they  must  be  able  to  reason  soundly 
and  constructively.  The  student's  first  task  is 
to  develop  the  power  and  acquire  the  habit  of 
clear,  strong,  fearless  thinking  upon  life's 
problems. 

We  only  need  to  face  the  conditions  of  mod- 
ern society  to  discover  that  the  one  hope  for 
healthy  and  permanent  progress  everywhere  lies 
in  the  increase  of  "moral  thoughtfulness."  The 
one  solitary  hope  of  the  hour  is  in  men  who 
can  and  dare  think  independently  and  respon- 
sibly. The  difficulties  of  democracy  are  grow- 
ing increasingly  heavy;  and  the  only  way  to 
meet  these  difficulties  is  to  teach  men  to  find 
and  to  use  their  minds.     If  democracy  is  not 

n 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

to  become  a  reckless  mob,  our  citizens  must  be 
thinking  men;  if  industry  is  not  to  be  brutal- 
izing, our  workers  must  be  thinking  men;  if 
religion  is  not  to  become  fanatical,  or  senti- 
mental, believers  must  be  thinking  men.  Presi- 
dent Woodrow  Wilson  makes  this  timely  ob- 
servation: "The  modern  world  is  an  exacting 
one,  and  the  things  it  exacts  are  mostly  intel- 
lectual." The  first  high  aim,  then,  of  all 
liberal  education  is  to  give  men  the  power  to 
see  clearly,  to  imagine  vividly,  to  think  soundly 
and  enthusiastically  upon  the  things  which  are 
pure  and  just  and  true.  "Where  there  is  no 
vision  the  people  perish."  And  there  can  be 
no  vision  where  there  is  no  responsible  thinking. 
If  the  Christian  school  is  to  hold  a  worthy  place 
to-day,  it  must  exalt  intellectual  training  and 
activity,  giving  to  men  and  women  an  appre- 
ciation of  the  joys  of  the  mind  and  a  zest  in 
thinking  through  and  working  out  the  prob- 
lems of  living. 

A  second  task  of  education  is  to  relate  culture 

to  life.     While  knowledge  is  its  own  exceeding 

great  reward,   beyond  itself  it  has  a  greater 

reward.     While  learning  brings  rich  satisfac- 

28 


TASK  OF   CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION 

tions  to  life,  beyond  these  there  are  the  noble 
ends  of  life  which  learning  may  serve.  The 
glory  of  a  rich,  strong  personality  produced  by 
broad  culture  is  in  serving  the  high  uses  of  life. 
The  institutions  of  learning  are  performing  an 
inestimable  service  in  raising  up  a  generation  of 
men  and  women  with  cultivated  imagination, 
with  an  appreciation  of  art,  with  powers  of 
observation,  and  with  the  joy  of  intellectual 
exercise.  But  beyond  and  above  this  education 
has  a  more  serious  purpose.  It  must  serve  all 
the  intelligent  ends  of  living.  There  must  be 
the  "union  of  learning  with  the  fine  art  of 
living."  Life  must  be  made  safer,  healthier, 
happier,  more  prosperous,  and  more  satisfying. 
Now,  it  is  the  failure  to  relate  itself  to  these 
great  practical  uses  of  life  that  has  provoked 
much  of  the  criticism  of  higher  education.  If 
the  college  and  the  university  do  not  educate 
men  for  something,  their  work  is  discredited, 
and  rightly  so.  Beyond  the  decorative  value  of 
knowledge  is  its  serviceableness  when  translated 
into  life.  Culture  not  for  its  own  sake,  but  for 
life's  sake,  is  the  watchword  of  the  present  day. 
A  distinguished  teacher  of  Greek  once  said  to  a 
29 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

student  who  was  making  a  blundering  recita- 
tion, "What  are  you  here  for?"  A  moment 
later  the  professor  answered  his  own  question: 
"For  two  things:  first  to  get  Greek,  second  to 
get  character."  To  get  Greek  so  as  to  get 
character  and  personal  power  is  the  first  achieve- 
ment of  all  education.  The  new  ideal  which  is 
pulsating  in  the  educational  movement  of  the 
present  day  is  the  vital  relation  of  learning  to 
life. 

The  rapid  development  of  the  State  univer- 
sities of  the  West  is,  in  large  measure,  in  re- 
sponse to  the  popular  demand  that  knowledge 
shall  serve  the  practical  needs  of  our  common 
life.  The  vast  enterprises  of  our  modern  civili- 
zation cannot  be  advanced  by  men  whose  sole 
interest  is  in  the  cultural  studies.  Men  must 
be  trained  for  doing  the  rough  work  of  the 
world,  clearing  the  forests,  building  the  high- 
ways, operating  the  mines,  and  constructing  the 
bridges.  The  college  is  to  teach  the  principles 
and  foster  the  ideals  which  will  make  for  better 
streets,  more  sanitary  houses,  richer  farms,  safer 
travel,  more  prosperous  livelihood. 

But  there  is  danger  of  learning  devoting  itself 
30 


TASK  OF   CHRISTIAN   EDUCATION 

chiefly  to  the  material  side  of  life.  Knowledge 
is  dangerous  when  its  aim  becomes  coarsely 
materialistic,  when  it  cares  for  skill  chiefly  for 
the  sake  of  piling  up  wealth.  It  is  highly  im- 
portant to  fit  a  man  for  some  specific  industry 
or  calling.  It  is  a  far  greater  thing  to  fit  him 
for  intelligent,  purposeful  living  of  life.  A 
skillful  worker  is  not  so  valuable  an  asset  in 
society  as  a  strong  man  with  a  reserve  of  intel- 
lectual energy  and  a  background  of  personality 
upon  which  everything  he  does  may  draw.  The 
whole  task  of  modern  education  is  not  in  train- 
ing farmers,  or  mechanics,  or  teachers,  or 
preachers,  but  the  training  of  men  for  clear, 
accurate  thinking,  for  earnest  and  heroic  action 
in  every  field  of  human  effort.  And  the  chief 
duty  of  education  has  not  been  performed  when 
the  youth  of  the  nation  have  been  vocationalized 
and  set  in  the  straight  road  to  financial  pros- 
perity. Christianity  utters  a  vigorous  protest 
against  the  bread-and-butter  theory  of  educa- 
tion. The  stern  prophecy  of  Emerson  must  yet 
be  fulfilled:  "The  sluggard  intellect  of  this 
continent  will  look  from  under  its  iron  lids 
and  fulfill  the  postponed   expectation  of  the 

31 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

world  with  something  better  than  the  exertion 
of  mechanical  skill." 

In  this  day  of  emphasis  upon  utility  in  edu- 
cation there  is  grave  danger  of  vocational  train- 
ing dwarfing  the  man  and  of  his  losing 

In  action's  dizzying  eddy  whirled 
The  something  that  infects  the  world. 

The  multitude  is  blind  to  the  fact  that  mere 
skill  in  production  and  the  increase  of  income 
will  not  serve  the  most  urgent  problems  of 
society.  What  is  the  foremost  need  of  our 
day?  Mechanical  experts  or  creators  of  public 
sentiment?  More  men  of  skill  in  mechanics  and 
agriculture  and  in  the  other  fields  of  human 
labor  are  not  so  greatly  needed  at  this  hour  as 
an  intelligent  citizenship,  with  wise  leadership 
in  industrial,  political,  and  religious  life.  We 
have  a  thousand  men  with  a  good  livelihood  to 
one  who  can  think  and  make  men  think.  "Not 
the  men  who  add  to  our  quantity  of  materials, 
but  the  men  who  deepen  the  quality  of  our 
living,  are  the  real  benefactors  of  the  world." 
The  age  imperatively  requires  expert  ability, 
but   the  expert  must  know  how  to  relate  his 

32 


TASK  OF  CHRISTIAN   EDUCATION 

talent  to  the  deeper  life  of  his  age.  Skill 
must  be  added  to  character;  the  man  must  be 
grown  and  then  the  worker.  It  is  important  to 
store  men's  minds  with  facts,  but  it  is  quite  as 
important  to  keep  alive  their  idealism  and  their 
public  spirit.  The  high  function  of  Christian 
education,  therefore,  is  not  chiefly  to  train  men 
for  making  a  living,  but,  rather,  to  inspire  and 
guide  them  in  the  making  of  a  strong  and 
purposeful  life. 

The  third  task  of  Christian  education  is  to 
dominate  all  culture  with  moral  earnestness  and 
with  spiritual  passion.  If  it  is  important  to 
"link  learning  with  life,"  it  is  quite  as  im- 
portant that  all  culture  should  be  consecrated 
to  the  spiritual  uses  of  life.  Men  with  superior 
learning  sometimes  prostitute  their  abilities  in 
promoting  corrupt  undertakings.  To  give  a 
man  a  disciplined  mind  and  the  power  to  lead 
and  command,  without  any  fixed  moral  prin- 
ciples, without  unswerving  integrity,  without  a 
first  devotion  to  good  causes,  is  only  to  multiply 
the  perils  of  civilization.  The  practical  ineffi- 
ciency of  a  "godless  knowledge"  in  promoting 
business  prosperity  and  in  strengthening  the 
33 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

institutions  of  free  government  lias  already  been 
proved.  Our  national  resources  are  being  rap- 
idly developed.  Wealth  is  multiplying.  Great 
empires  of  material  power  lie  at  our  feet.  The 
result  is  an  increase  of  luxury,  an  ambition  for 
the  accumulation  of  property,  and  a  temptation 
to  seek  satisfaction  in  things.  The  transcendent 
task  of  Christian  culture  is  holding  before  a 
people  who  are  promoting  the  material  interests 
of  the  nation  the  spiritual  uses  of  their  wealth 
and  power.  And  unless  our  colleges  and  uni- 
versities stand  for  "plain  living  and  high  think- 
ing" and  make  men  care  for  learning  and  for 
integrity  and  for  public  virtue,  they  fail  utterly. 
The  new  economic  reforms,  the  crusade  in  the 
interests  of  a  purer  society,  the  civic  move- 
ments in  municipal  and  national  government, 
are  trumpet  calls  to  men  of  learning  and  light 
to  serve  the  world.  The  highest  ideal  of  edu- 
cation is  that  of  the  Master  Teacher,  'Tor 
their  sakes  I  sanctify  myself" — culture  not  for 
its  own  sake,  character  not  for  its  own  sake, 
but  both  culture  and  character  raised  to  the 
highest  point  of  efficiency  for  the  service  of  the 
spiritual  ends  of  life.    Whenever  culture  centers 

34 


TASK  OF  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION 

in  itself,  whenever  character  becomes  an  end  in 
itself,  strength  passes  into  weakness.  The  pages 
of  history  are  full  of  the  pathetic  story  of  men  of 
genius,  with  trained  minds  and  rich  imagina- 
tion, whose  lives  were  not  felt  in  the  world.  The 
reason  is  they  were  lacking  in  moral  earnestness 
and  in  consecration  to  spiritual  ideals.  The 
ultimate  test  of  every  work  of  genius,  of  every 
book  that  is  written,  of  every  state  that  is 
built,  and  of  every  character  that  is  formed  is 
this:  Does  it  serve  with  moral  purpose  the 
spiritual  interests  of  life?  Unless  men  from 
the  schools  take  on  their  shoulders  the  burden 
of  humanity,  saying  to  the  world,  "Ourselves 
your  servants  for  Jesus'  sake,"  education  cannot 
long  hold  its  high  place. 


35 


IV 


THE  FAILURE  OF  INTELLECTUAL 
CULTURE 

IN  this  mind-crowned  age  we  point  with  just 
pride  to  the  achievements  of  learning.  The 
mastery  of  the  material  forces  of  nature,  the 
development  of  the  physical  resources  of  the 
earth,  the  rapid  production  of  wealth,  the 
progress  in  communication  and  travel,  the  ad- 
vance of  medical  and  surgical  science — these 
are  achievements  of  the  educated  mind.  Truly, 
one  of  our  twentieth-century  days  is  more 
wonderful  than  all  the  Arabian  Nights.  And 
in  all  these  mighty  doings  the  trained  intellect 
is  the  indispensable  tool. 

But  in  our  praise  of  learning  we  must  not 
forget  that  knowledge  has  its  failures  as  well 
as  its  successes.  Intellectual  culture  alone  is 
insufficient  for  the  needs  and  tasks  of  life. 
Education  is  only  an  instrument.  A  fine  tool 
in  the  hands  of  a  workman  does  not  guarantee 
36 


FAILURE  OF  INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE 

a  worthy  product.  Quite  as  much  depends 
upon  the  character  of  the  workman  as  upon 
his  skill.  The  mind  alone,  however  rich  its 
attainments,  is  not  sufficient  for  all  the  neces- 
sities of  life. 

First  of  all,  culture  fails  in  making  an  all- 
round  manhood.  It  increases  power.  It  opens 
the  treasures  of  the  arts  and  sciences.  It  dis- 
covers new  worlds  of  enjoyment  and  achieve- 
ment. But  the  great  task  before  the  individual 
and  before  society  is  the  making  of  a  man,  the 
development  of  personality.  Keen  and  ac- 
curate thinking  does  not  insure  lofty  character. 
One  may  be  accomplished  and  yet  brutal,  bril- 
liant and  at  the  same  time  vicious.  John 
Stuart  Mill,  apostle  of  modern  culture,  before 
the  close  of  his  career  came  to  the  strong  con- 
viction that  life  needs  religion.  There  are 
"evils  that  culture  cannot  cure;  there  are 
blessings  it  cannot  bestow.  It  cannot  give 
peace  to  the  conscience;  it  cannot  shield  life 
from  sorrow;  it  cannot  lessen  the  anguish  of 
the  human  heart  or  dispel  the  shadow  of  death." 

Some  months  ago  there  appeared  in  a  popu- 
lar magazine  an  article  making  a  wholesale 
37 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

charge  of  immorality  and  irreligion  in  the 
American  colleges.  The  article  is  a  libel.  No 
higher  average  of  character  can  be  found  any- 
where among  our  youth  than  is  to  be  found  in 
the  students  of  the  colleges  and  the  univer- 
sities. But  there  is  this  basis  of  fact  in  the 
charge  against  the  colleges — learning  alone  does 
not  give  men  strength  to  resist  temptation  and 
to  live  nobly.  Life  must  have  the  inspiration, 
the  guidance  and  safeguards  of  religion  to 
insure  lofty  character.  Symmetry  and  balance 
are  quite  as  indispensable  as  learning.  The 
failure  of  culture  is  that  it  often  produces  men 
who  are  clear-minded,  but  cynical;  keen,  but 
cold;  strong,  but  arbitrary;  wise,  but  bigoted; 
positive,  but  intolerant.  Culture  alone  is  not 
sufficient  for  the  development  of  an  all-round 
symmetrical  manhood. 

Another  failure  of  education  is  in  fitting  men 
for  the  practical  tasks  and  for  the  everyday 
work  of  the  world.  Perhaps  the  most  common 
criticism  made  against  the  schools  is  that  their 
graduates  are  not  fitted  for  useful  work.  But 
this  shortcoming  is  not  so  much  a  matter  of 
method  as  it  is  of  motive.     Talent  and  skill 

38 


FAILURE  OF  INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE 

are  no  more  indispensable  for  inefficiency  in 
doing  the  world's  work  than  vision  and  sym- 
pathy and  courage.  Theodore  P.  Shonts, 
speaking  from  the  standpoint  of  a  man  of 
affairs,  declared,  "The  educated  man  who  lacks 
character  has  a  far  more  serious  handicap  than 
the  uneducated  man  with  character."  The 
great  enterprises  of  trade  and  industry  are 
safe  only  when  they  are  in  the  hands  of  men 
of  intellect  and  character.  Our  material  great- 
ness is  threatened  unless  moral  conviction  keeps 
pace  with  intellectual  culture.  Vast  piles  of 
steel  and  stone  do  not  make  a  great  civiliza- 
tion. Greed  is  as  corrupting,  licentiousness  is 
as  deadly,  drink  is  as  degrading  among  the 
learned  as  among  the  ignorant.  Knowledge 
alone  has  no  power  to  save  the  individual  or 
society.  Through  all  the  streets  of  our  civiliza- 
tion must  flow  the  river  of  life.  This  alone  is 
the  guarantee  of  a  better  day.  In  business  it 
is  not  enough  to  have  educated  experts.  The 
need  is  for  men  who  will  not  fatten  on  luxury 
and  use  their  power  for  oppression,  but  men 
who  can  see  the  relation  of  things  to  character 
and  who  will  make  and  use  wealth  for  the  well- 
39 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

being  of  their  fellows.  The  problems  of  po- 
litical life  have  no  hope  of  solution  except  as 
our  public  servants  become  men  of  vision,  in- 
corruptible in  integrity  and  sensitive  in  honor. 
In  religion  it  is  becoming  increasingly  evident 
that  the  light  of  learning  alone  cannot  guide 
men  into  life  eternal.  The  man  of  culture  alone 
is  not  big  enough  for  to-day's  tasks  anywhere. 
For  the  stupendous  tasks  of  the  twentieth 
century  we  need  men  who  are  trained  by 
the  college  and  inspired  and  fashioned  by  the 
church. 

God  give  us  men;  times  like  these  demand 

Strong  minds,  great  hearts,  true  faith,  and  ready  hands. 

Men  whom  the  lust  of  office  does  not  kill; 

Men  whom  the  spoils  of  office  cannot  buy; 
Men  who  possess  opinions  and  a  will; 

Men  who  have  honor;  men  who  will  not  lie; 
Men  who  can  stand  before  the  demagogue 

And  damn  his  treacherous  flatteries  without  winking. 
Tall  men,  sun-crowned,  who  live  above  the  mists 

In  public  duty  and  in  private  thinking. 
For  while  the  rabble  with  their  thumb-worn  creeds, 
Their  large  professions,  and  their  little  deeds 
Mingle  in  selfish  strife,  lo!  freedom  weeps, 
Wrong  rules  the  land,  and  waiting  justice  sleeps. 

Culture  and  learning  have  always  united  in 
making  the  great  leaders  of  our  race.     The 
40 


FAILURE  OF  INTELLECTUAL  CULTURE 

learning  of  Erasmus  never  could  have  kindled 
the  fires  of  the  Reformation.  The  burning 
heart  of  Luther  must  be  added.  The  greatest 
force  of  the  eighteenth  century  for  human  up- 
lift was  not  Goethe,  the  man  of  letters,  but  John 
Wesley,  in  whom  learning  and  piety  finely 
united.  Mr.  Huxley  has  said  that  civilization 
is  far  more  indebted  to  George  Fox,  the  mystic, 
than  to  Benjamin  Franklin,  the  practical  sage. 
Knowledge  is  power,  but  to  be  a  power  for 
good  it  must  have  the  pure  heart  of  religion. 
The  library  and  the  laboratory  are  indispen- 
sable, but  they  have  little  moral  value.  If  so- 
ciety cannot  be  saved  without  education,  no 
more  can  education  be  saved  without  religion. 
The  power  to  brace  men's  wills  and  to  purify 
their  hearts  is  not  in  the  schools.  In  all  the  halls 
of  learning  the  Divine  Voice  must  be  heard — 
"This  is  the  way  of  life,  walk  ye  in  it."  If  so- 
ciety is  to  be  saved  from  being  mammonized, 
if  the  iron  hand  of  industry  is  to  be  softened, 
if  righteousness  is  to  become  a  resistless  power 
in  the  land,  learning  must  seek  religion,  and 
religion  must  evermore  be  kept  sane  and  strong 
by  learning. 

41 


THE  PLACE  OF  RELIGION  IN 
EDUCATION 

IT  is  clearly  evident  that  education  and  reli- 
gion are  the  foremost  interests  of  human 
life.  They  have  to  do  with  personal  character, 
with  business,  and  with  all  the  institutions  of 
society.  While  this  statement  would  be  gen- 
erally accepted,  there  is  in  the  popular  mind 
the  haziest  idea  of  the  relation  of  religion  and 
education. 

Historically,  the  connection  between  educa- 
tion and  religion  has  been  close.  During  the 
mediaeval  centuries  learning  was  kept  alive  by 
the  monks  in  the  monasteries.  The  first  Ameri- 
can colleges  were  founded  and  nurtured  by 
churchmen.  The  seals  of  the  oldest  colleges 
and  universities  were  stamped  with  the  in- 
signia of  the  Christian  faith.  The  early  colon- 
42 


RELIGION    IN   EDUCATION 

ists  laid  at  one  and  the  same  time  the  founda- 
tions of  the  church  and  the  school.  Religious 
instruction  was  an  important  part  of  the  cur- 
ricula of  all  the  schools.  But  when  the  popula- 
tion of  America  became  religiously  so  diverse, 
religious  instruction  in  the  schools  of  the  state 
ceased.  With  the  complete  separation  of 
church  and  state,  and  the  disappearance  of  all 
religious  teaching  in  the  public  schools,  there  has 
developed  an  increased  interest  in  the  question 
of  the  relation  between  education  and  religion. 
More  than  ever  before  both  education  and 
religion  are  being  defined  in  terms  of  life. 
Whatever  the  method  of  education  may  be,  its 
aim  is  to  fit  men  and  women  for  life.  The 
most  popular  appeal  that  can  be  made  for 
learning  is  that  it  issues  in  larger  life.  A  half 
dozen  leading  American  educators  writing  re- 
cently have  set  forth  the  purpose  of  education 
in  the  following  striking  phrases:  "education 
for  efficiency,"  "to  fit  men  to  deal  with  the 
affairs  of  life,"  "to  assert  individual  capacity  in 
terms  of  rational  activity,"  "to  equip  the  indi- 
vidual for  life,"  "to  train  citizens  for  citizen- 
ship." 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  dominant 
conception  of  religion  also  has  to  do  with  life. 
Creeds  and  theologies,  ceremonies  and  rituals 
are  instruments  for  the  promotion  of  a  deeper 
spiritual  life.  Religion  rejoices  in  the  largest 
life.  Its  deepest  purpose  breathes  in  the  words 
of  the  Master:  "I  came  that  they  might  have 
life,  and  have  it  more  abundantly."  As  Jesus 
conceives  it,  religion  is  life  in  and  by  the  will 
of  God.  It  is  the  union  of  the  personal  will 
with  the  will  of  God. 

Our  wills  are  ours,  we  know  not  how; 
Our  wills  are  ours,  to  make  them  thine. 

Jesus  looked  upon  the  laws  of  nature  as  expres- 
sions of  the  will  of  God.  So,  when  he  taught 
men  to  pray,  "Thy  will  be  done,"  he  set  them 
on  the  highway  to  the  discovery  of  truth.  The 
determination  to  do  the  will  of  God  opens 
the  eyes  of  the  understanding,  sweeps  away 
sophistries,  and  clears  the  judgment.  The  in- 
tellectual processes  of  a  bad  man  are  not  re- 
liable. "Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart;  for 
they  shall  see"  is  a  beautiful  beatitude  of  the 
intellectual  life  as  well  as  of  the  religious. 
44 


RELIGION    IN   EDUCATION 

There  is  a  most  valuable  educational  principle 
in  the  Master's  declaration:  "As  I  hear  I  judge; 
my  judgment  is  righteous,  because  I  seek  not 
mine  own  will,  but  the  will  of  him  that  sent 
me";  "If  any  man  will  to  do  his  will,  he  shall 
know  of  the  teaching."  The  fullest  discovery 
of  knowledge  waits  upon  our  determination  to 
be  utterly  faithful  to  the  present  light.  If, 
then,  religion  is  interpreted  not  in  terms  of 
doctrine  or  of  emotion;  if  it  is  not  chiefly  a 
matter  of  ritual  or  of  rule,  but  rather  of  life,  it 
is  linked  inseparably  with  all  true  education. 
Education  and  religion  are  united  in  one  supreme 
task.  Education  seeks  to  discover  the  laws 
of  the  world  and  of  one's  own  being;  religion 
seeks  to  enthrone  the  will  of  God  as  the  very 
essence  of  life.  To  find  oneself  and  the  possi- 
bilities of  one's  world  is  the  aim  of  all  educa- 
tion. And  this  discovery  is  never  so  certain 
as  when  we  pray  to  God  reverently  and  joy- 
fully, "Father,  thy  will  be  done." 

But  to  be  more  specific,  what  has  religion  to 

do  with  a  man's  education?    First  of  all,  it  will 

carry  the  aims  of  education  up  to  completeness. 

As  was  set  forth  in  the  previous  chapter,  intel- 

45 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

lectual  culture  alone  fails  to  realize  the  ideals 
of  character  or  to  perform  the  tasks  of  con- 
duct. Education  gives  one  fullest  possession  of 
his  powers;  religion  must  give  self-mastery. 
Education  makes  for  the  mastery  of  situations; 
religion  keeps  dominant  the  spirit  of  unselfish- 
ness. Education  makes  life  larger  and  stronger; 
religion  makes  it  deeper  in  meaning  and  more 
satisfying.  If  the  final  aim  of  education  is  not 
culture  for  its  own  sake,  but  for  the  sake  of 
living  the  largest  and  most  worth-while  life, 
learning  reaches  its  goal  only  by  the  help  of 
religion.  Why?  Because  the  effectiveness  of 
life  depends  not  alone  upon  capacity,  but  also 
upon  character;  not  alone  upon  power,  but  also 
upon  motive;  not  alone  upon  light,  but  also 
upon  leading. 

Again,  religion  is  indispensable  to  the  edu- 
cated man  in  giving  to  life  a  spiritual  meaning. 
Science  has  told  us  how  the  earth  was  made, 
but  not  what  it  was  made  for.  Learning  has 
disclosed  the  secrets  of  the  human  body,  but 
it  has  no  word  concerning  the  destiny  of  human 
life.  The  scholars  have  written  the  history  of 
the  human  race,  but  they  have  not  measured 
46 


RELIGION    IN   EDUCATION 

the  spiritual  value  of  man's  life.  The  only 
rational  interpretation  of  these  deeper  prob- 
lems of  our  life  is  to  be  found  in  religious  faith. 
What  avails  it  for  men  to  increase  their  wealth, 
and  multiply  inventions,  and  master  material 
forces,  if  these  things  are  not  shot  through  and 
through  with  spiritual  meaning  and  purpose? 
There  is  a  realm  of  spiritual  life  close  to  us. 
There  are  invisible  realities  which  we  may 
know.  There  are  voices  which  speak  to  an 
inner  sense  messages  of  cheer  and  strength. 
The  Bible,  with  its  tides  of  spiritual  life,  meets 
the  deepest  instincts  of  the  human  heart. 
"Man  cannot  live  by  bread  alone."  There  are 
wants  deeper  than  those  of  the  physical  senses. 
Man's  inmost  nature  cries  out  for  the  living 
God.  Keener  than  the  cravings  of  hunger  and 
thirst  is  the  soul's  sense  of  the  Eternal.  Now 
it  is  because  religion  meets  life's  deepest  ques- 
tions with  an  answer,  and  its  inmost  cravings 
with  satisfaction,  that  it  brings  to  the  man  of 
culture  life  indeed.  Professor  Eucken  has  well 
said,  "Not  suffering  but  spiritual  destitution  is 
man's  worst  enemy."  The  greatest  problem  of 
society  is  not  to  multiply  riches  and  comforts, 
47 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

and  cities  and  institutions,  not  to  produce  art 
and  literature,  but  to  enrich  and  transform  life 
with  faith  and  hope  and  love.  That  is  the  task 
of  religion. 

It  is  becoming  increasingly  evident  that  these 
deeper  needs  of  life  can  be  met  only  as  the  insti- 
tutions of  society  are  developed.  The  institu- 
tions upon  which  civilization  must  depend  for 
its  ideals  and  moral  force  are  the  home,  the 
church,  and  the  state.  This  trinity  guards  and 
fosters  the  most  precious  things  in  human  life. 
The  efficiency  of  any  one  of  these  divinely  or- 
dained institutions  of  society  depends  upon  the 
moral  ideals  and  the  spiritual  force  of  religion. 
The  home  is  jeopardized  by  the  tragedies  of 
lust  and  crime  unless  it  is  filled  with  the  sweet 
influences  of  religion.  The  state  will  become 
corrupt,  and  civilization  coarse  and  vulgar, 
unless  there  is  a  divine  life  permeating  their 
whole  being.  Education  alone  cannot  save 
the  institutions  of  the  nation  from  decay  and 
destruction.  Education  must  have  a  moral 
dynamic  at  the  heart  of  it. 

From  still  another  viewpoint  we  may  see  the 
vital  relation  of  religion  and  education.  Reli- 
48 


RELIGION    IN   EDUCATION 

gion  alone  can  save  men  from  the  peril  of  their 
success.  No  severer  test  comes  to  the  indi- 
vidual and  nation  than  comes  in  prosperity.  It 
was  no  mere  religious  truism  that  Jesus  uttered 
when  he  said,  "How  hardly  shall  they  which 
have  riches  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God!" 
The  disclosures  of  recent  years  have  empha- 
sized the  magnitude  of  the  perils  of  wealth 
both  to  individual  and  to  national  life.  Our 
prodigious  national  prosperity  is  the  product  of 
our  science.  And  this  vast  power  is  a  good 
beyond  doubt,  if  it  is  used  for  high  service, 
if  it  is  consecrated  to  noble  ends.  But  if  our 
gigantic  material  interests  are  not  dominated 
by  great  spiritual  ideals  and  enterprises,  then 
our  wealth  becomes  our  tilth. 

An  American  editor  makes  this  keen  arraign- 
ment of  our  national  life:  "That  we  are  passing 
through  a  great  moral  crisis  becomes  every  day 
more  clear.  That  crisis  has  come  not  a  day  too 
soon,  if  the  soul  of  the  country  is  to  be  kept 
alive;  it  cannot  be  too  severe  in  its  arraignment 
of  baseness,  too  thorough  in  the  punishment  it 
inflicts,  too  drastic  in  the  methods  of  cleansing 
and  reinvigorating  which  it  adopts.  There  has 
49 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

never  been  a  more  shocking  story  of  dishonor 
told  among  any  people,  nor  one  which  makes 
the  reader  or  hearer  more  indignant  or  ashamed. 
In  whatever  direction  the  light  searches,  in- 
stantly mean  little  men  of  great  financial  posi- 
tion come  into  startling  light,  and  are  seen 
managing  affairs  with  great  financial  ability, 
but  with  the  moral  ideas  of  semi-savages.  An 
undeniable  moral  vulgarity  stamps  them  as 
men  of  large  brains  and  little  souls;  capable  of 
great  material  achievements,  but  with  rudi- 
mentary spiritual  development.  On  this  group 
of  betrayers  of  trusts  the  great  mass  of  Amer- 
icans looked  first  with  incredulity,  then  with 
astonishment,  and  lastly  with  deepening  indig- 
nation. Sound  at  heart,  but  dull  with  pros- 
perity, and  overtaken  by  a  kind  of  moral 
sleeping  sickness,  the  nation  opens  its  eyes, 
looks  about  with  dismay,  and  gathers  its  forces 
for  a  passionate  fight  against  the  vices  that 
have  brought  shame  and  disaster  to  it."  The 
only  hope  of  saving  the  nation  from  its  vices 
is  in  religion.  Exposure  and  denunciation  will 
not  do  it.  Campaigns  of  instruction  and  agita- 
tion will  lay  the  ax  at  the  root  of  hoary  evils, 
50 


RELIGION    IN   EDUCATION 

but  society  can  be  redeemed  only  by  planting 
the  seed  of  the  new  life. 

In  George  Washington's  Farewell  Address  he 
utters  a  truth  never  more  timely  than  now: 
4 'Of  all  the  dispositions  and  habits  which  lead 
to  political  prosperity  religion  and  morality  are 
indispensable  supporters.  Let  us  with  caution 
indulge  the  supposition  that  morality  can  be 
maintained  without  religion.  Whatever  may  be 
conceded  to  the  influence  of  refined  education  on 
minds  of  peculiar  structure,  reason  and  ex- 
perience both  forbid  us  to  expect  that  rational 
morality  can  prevail  in  exclusion  of  religious 
principles."  In  our  enthusiasm  for  education, 
if  the  religious  training  of  our  youth  is  withheld, 
the  home  is  imperiled,  the  church  is  doomed  to 
decline,  and  the  foundations  of  the  nation  are 
shaken.  God  is  not  an  elective.  Religion  is 
indispensable.  Reverence  for  law,  obedience  to 
conscience,  the  recognition  of  God  in  history 
and  in  nature,  the  place  of  Christ  in  civilization, 
the  value  of  the  Bible  for  literature  and  for  life 
— these  things  are  far  more  vital  to  good  citi- 
zenship and  to  the  permanence  and  peace  of 
the  nation  than  any  scientific  formula.  Presi- 
51 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

dent  Faunce  has  said,  "The  Bible  has  performed 
in  modern  times  a  vastly  greater  service  than 
the  entire  classical  literature  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans."  If  this  be  true,  the  prevailing  neglect 
of  religious  instruction  both  in  the  home  and 
in  the  school  is  alarming.  No  one  who  knows 
the  place  of  the  Bible  in  the  history  of  civiliza- 
tion and  the  influence  of  religion  upon  intel- 
lectual progress  will  ever  think  lightly  of 
religion. 

Let  the  youth  of  the  nation  seek  skill  in  the 
arts  and  trades;  let  them  master  the  sciences, 
and  always  in  the  quest  of  the  largest  life; 
let  the  capacity  of  the  mind  be  developed  to 
the  utmost.  But  let  the  young  men  and 
women  never  forget  that  learning  finds  its 
fulfillment  in  unselfish  service,  and  that  reli- 
gion alone  will  guide  and  keep  life  forever 
in  purity  and  in  strength. 


52 


VI 


THE  GROWING  MIND  AND  THE 
CHRISTIAN  IDEAL 

THE  wonder  of  modern  times  is  the  increase 
of  knowledge.  Every  day  the  adventur- 
ous mind  of  man  announces  some  new  discovery. 
The  sciences  are  multiplying  their  treasures  with 
bewildering  profusion.  A  superficial  survey  of 
scientific  progress  during  the  past  half  century 
reveals  new  worlds  of  knowledge  whose  exist- 
ence was  not  dreamed  of.  But  the  greatest 
wonder  is  not  the  startling  discoveries,  it  is 
the  daring  discoverer;  not  the  accumulation  of 
knowledge,  but  the  growing  mind.  Important 
as  are  the  achievements  of  learning  for  the 
practical  uses  of  life,  the  fact  of  supreme  im- 
portance is  that  by  the  increase  of  knowledge 
the  intellect  develops  unsuspected  powers.  It 
is  worth  while  to  add  to  the  treasures  of  the 
53 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

arts  and  sciences,  but  it  is  really  more  worth 
while  to  increase  the  mind's  capacity  to  think 
and  to  know.  And  the  glory  of  all  true  educa- 
tion is  that  it  meets  life's  problems  with  a 
clearer  insight,  with  a  more  unerring  judgment, 
and  with  the  larger  outlook.  The  eager  mind 
discovers  some  new  truth  to-day,  and  to- 
morrow, larger  in  capacity  and  keener  in  zest, 
it  pushes  out  into  wider  fields  in  quest  of  more 
truth.  Goethe's  dying  cry,  "Light,  more  light!" 
is  only  the  prayer  of  an  earnest  soul  growing 
forever  in  its  appreciation  and  grasp  of  the 
truth.  This  spirit  of  intellectual  pioneering  is 
the  dominant  characteristic  of  modern  educa- 
tion. The  belief  that  truth  can  be  found,  and 
that  it  is  to  be  sought  at  any  sacrifice,  is 
driving  men  in  every  field  of  knowledge  into 
earnest,  heroic  quest  of  the  truth.  There  is  no 
tale  of  heroism  on  the  seas  more  thrilling  than 
the  stories  of  men  in  medical  science  literally 
laying  down  their  lives  to  discover  the  secret 
for  the  conquest  of  some  disease. 

Now,  this  same  spirit,  believing  that  truth 
can  be  known,  and  that  the  truth  is  for  life, 
and  that  the  truth  is  to  grow  from  more  to 
54 


THE  GROWING  MIND 

more,  is  the  very  heart  of  the  Christian  ideal. 
Jesus  again  and  again  startled  his  wondering 
disciples  by  the  announcement:  "Greater  things 
than  these  shall  you  do."  "I  have  yet  many 
things  to  say  unto  you."  In  other  words,  the 
Christian  ideal  of  life  is  a  growing  revelation  of 
God;  it  is  an  ever-increasing  development  of 
spiritual  capacity;  it  is  going  from  strength  to 
strength  until  we  appear  before  God. 

Does  not  this  fact  of  the  growing  mind, 
matched  by  the  enlarging  ideal  of  the  Christian 
life,  give  a  new  significance  both  to  our  intel- 
lectual progress  and  to  our  religious  problems? 
We  get  into  religious  troubles  if  the  mind  be- 
comes stagnant.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the 
intellectual  powers  become  masterful  and  faith 
is  weak  and  sickly,  life  loses  its  strength  and 
peace.  This  is  the  point  of  view  of  that  ad- 
mirable little  book  of  Bishop  William  F.  Mc- 
Dowell on  The  Religion  of  a  Man.  A  growing 
mind  and  an  increasing  faith  are  the  essential 
elements  of  the  religion  of  a  man.  But  a  one- 
sided intellectual  development  presents  one  of 
the  problems  of  personal  religion.  Faith  is 
often  cast  aside  in  the  hasty  conclusion  that 
65 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

religion  has  been  discredited  by  the  advance 
of  learning.  The  difficulty  is  a  man's  trying  to 
get  along  with  a  child's  faith.  The  Christian 
ideal  of  life  is  not  something  set  and  stationary. 
Christian  truth  is  not  a  definite  deposit  once 
and  for  all  delivered  to  the  saints,  unchanging 
and  unmodified  by  the  growth  of  moral  per- 
ception and  intellectual  outlook.  As  the  mind 
grows  faith  must  grow.  Men  must  just  as 
certainly  put  away  childish  things  in  religion 
as  in  play. 

A  graduate  student  in  an  American  univer- 
sity said  with  a  deep  pathos  in  his  voice:  "I 
do  not  believe  anything  any  more.  If  I  only 
had  the  faith  of  my  childhood!"  But  the  faith 
of  his  childhood  was  intellectually  impossible 
to  him,  and  it  would  have  been  just  as  inade- 
quate as  impossible.  The  root  of  this  young 
man's  difficulty  was  this:  his  mind  had  been 
busy  with  the  teachings  of  science  and  of 
philosophy  for  half  a  dozen  years,  and  he  had 
neglected  the  proper  feeding  of  his  spiritual 
nature.  He  was  thinking  with  a  man's  mind 
of  the  things  of  science,  and  with  a  child's 
conception  of  the  things  of  religion.  He  was 
56 


THE  GROWING  MIND 

bringing  his  childhood  conceptions  of  God  and 
of  prayer  and  of  the  Bible  to  the  problems  and 
tasks  of  a  man.  And  out  of  this  came  his 
spiritual  despair.  He  had  not  lost  faith.  But 
his  intellectual  conceptions  of  religious  things 
were  not  satisfying. 

Is  not  this  the  explanation  of  much  of  the 
alleged  doubt  of  our  time?  Men  must  put  away 
childish  things.  It  is  natural  and  normal  in 
childhood  to  think  as  a  child,  but  in  manhood 
childish  things  must  be  put  away.  A  child's 
faith  is  beautiful  for  a  child,  but  it  will  not  do 
for  a  man.  The  child's  joy  in  play  and  in  the 
home  is  beautiful,  but  the  growing  powers  of  a 
man  demand  the  tasks  and  the  pleasures  of  a 
larger  world.  How  may  the  man,  bewildered 
by  intellectual  doubts,  regain  his  faith?  Can 
the  student  of  the  sciences  and  the  philosophies 
get  back  his  Bible,  his  confidence  in  prayer,  and 
his  faith  in  God?  He  can  if  he  is  given  a  man's 
faith  instead  of  a  child's.  He  needs  a  man's 
faith,  a  man's  God,  a  man's  Bible,  a  man's 
task.  He  may  believe  in  the  religious  authority 
of  the  Bible  vindicated  in  his  own  experience, 
just  as  the  mariner  believes  in  his  sextant  and 
57 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

the  astronomer  in  his  telescope.  He  needs  a 
church  that  is  doing  something  more  than 
ministering  to  spiritual  foundlings,  that  is  doing 
something  more  than  feeding  its  own  emotions 
by  its  altar  sacrifices.  He  needs  a  church  that 
sets  for  him  a  task  big  enough  to  call  forth  the 
heroism  and  the  self-sacrifice  of  the  manliest 
souls.  He  needs  a  God  as  much  greater  than 
the  God  of  his  childhood  as  the  capacity  and 
need  of  a  man  are  greater  than  the  need  and 
capacity  of  a  child.  Professor  William  James 
once  said,  "The  modern  world  needs  a  moral 
equivalent  for  war."  Some  heroic  thing  to  be 
done,  some  heavy  burden  to  be  borne,  some 
great  sacrifice  to  be  made,  some  gigantic  evil 
to  be  overcome  call  for  a  faith  that  is  large  and 
ever  growing  larger.  If  thinking  men  would 
save  their  faith,  they  only  need  to  recognize 
the  fact  that  the  Christian  ideal  must  grow 
to  meet  the  needs  of  the  growing  mind.  To 
become  a  master  in  science  will  not  make  a 
religious  doubter  if  there  is  a  corresponding 
growth  in  one's  conception  of  spiritual  things. 
If  the  scholar  becomes  a  skeptic,  it  does  not 
mean  that  something  is  wanting  intellectually 
58 


THE  GROWING  MIND 

in  the  matters  of  faith.  In  most  cases  it  means 
that  the  mind  has  been  fed  while  the  spiritual 
nature  has  been  starved. 

Furthermore,  it  is  heartening  to  the  Christian 
believer  to  discover  that  the  scholar  has  not 
really  lost  faith  in  God,  but  only  in  his  child- 
hood or  traditional  thought  of  God.  He  does 
not  deny  the  truth  of  the  Bible;  he  doubts  his 
childhood  interpretations  of  the  Bible.  He  still 
believes  in  prayer,  but  not  in  all  prayers. 
When  the  deep,  universal  needs  of  human  life 
reassert  themselves  men  cry  out  for  ''the  evi- 
dence of  things  not  seen." 

Subtlest  thought  shall  fail  and  learning  falter, 
Churches  change,  forms  perish,  systems  go. 

But  our  human  needs  they  will  not  alter, 
Christ  no  after  age  shall  e'er  outgrow. 

Christ  is  not  outgrown,  but  some  of  our  con- 
ceptions of  him  are  outgrown.  A  man's  reli- 
gion for  a  man's  task;  a  man's  Bible  for  a  man's 
world — a  growing  man  and  an  ever-growing 
revelation  of  God — is  not  this  our  supreme 
need?  Yonder  in  the  green  fields  of  childhood 
is  the  God  of  little  children.  Lo!  here  in  the 
59 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

gloom  and  struggle  of  the  street  is  the  great 
God  of  men! 

If  the  contention  of  this  chapter  is  true, 
faith  has  nothing  to  fear  from  the  growth  of 
knowledge.  On  the  other  hand,  learning  need 
never  be  ashamed  to  confess  faith.  Open- 
minded,  courageous  pursuit  of  truth  will  ulti- 
mately lead  to  Christ  as  its  goal.  The  Christian 
ideals  need  perpetually  the  new  interpretation 
and  fresh  embodiment  which  will  be  given  only 
by  growing  minds.  While  the  growing  mind  is 
creating  new  sciences,  and  commanding  new 
forces,  and  investing  the  world  with  new  mean- 
ings, it  must  ever  be  pressing  forward  toward 
the  mark  for  the  prize  of  life's  highest  calling 
in  Jesus  Christ. 


60 


VII 
INTELLECTUAL  HONESTY 

A  SQUARE  deal"  and  "Fair  Play"  are 
the  slogans  of  the  day.  They  indicate 
the  trend  of  popular  thinking.  Fairness  in  deal- 
ing and  truthfulness  in  speaking  are  high  moral 
obligations  which  have  come  to  be  recognized 
as  fundamental  in  all  the  activities  of  civilized 
society.  But  this  popular  demand  for  honesty 
is  often  superficial.  There  can  be  no  guarantee 
of  honor  in  conduct  unless  there  is  honesty  in 
thought.  The  first  demand,  therefore,  which  re- 
ligion makes  of  the  mind  is  honesty  in  one's 
thinking.  "Whatsoever  things  are  true,  think 
on  these  things." 

The  most  outstanding  characteristic  of  the 

Bible  is  its  absolute  fidelity  to  the  facts  of  life. 

Open  the  Old  Book  where  you  will,  and  you 

find  a  cross-section  of  human  life.    The  events 

61 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

which  are  recorded  are  presented  in  a  plain, 
simple  narrative,  and  are  never  arranged  for 
dramatic  effect.  Its  characters  never  pose.  Its 
heroes  and  saints  are  men  with  temptations  and 
struggles  like  our  own.  The  utter  intellectual 
honesty  of  the  Bible  in  portraying  the  expe- 
riences of  men  who  are  dealing  with  God  is 
the  hall-mark  of  its  inspiration. 

In  the  character  of  Jesus  this  trait  of  intel- 
lectual honesty  is  even  more  conspicuous.  It 
was  the  background  of  all  the  other  elements  of 
his  personality  which  made  him  so  divinely  fair. 
He  had  a  passion  for  reality.  He  has  much  to 
say  about  the  truth — believing  the  truth,  know- 
ing the  truth,  and  living  the  truth.  His  whole 
soul  seemed  in  revolt  at  sham  of  any  kind.  His 
denunciation  of  the  Pharisees  is  an  unsparing 
arraignment  of  pretense  and  unreality.  He 
struck  straight  at  the  evils  of  his  time.  He 
never  juggled  with  words  nor  temporized  with 
moral  issues.  Jesus  shows  the  same  high 
quality  of  intellectual  sincerity  in  dealing  with 
his  disciples.  He  wanted  followers,  but  he 
never  painted  the  life  of  discipleship  in  rosy 
colors  to  win  men.  He  spoke  plainly  of  the 
62 


INTELLECTUAL  HONESTY 

hardships  and  persecutions  which  were  to  be 
the  lot  of  the  builders  of  the  Kingdom.  He 
always  set  the  cross  in  the  foreground.  He  was 
so  utterly  candid  in  dealing  with  men  that  he 
would  not  allow  a  rich  man  of  noble  character 
to  become  a  disciple  without  facing  squarely  the 
responsibilities  of  discipleship.  He  deliberately 
scattered  the  crowds  by  the  mystery  of  his 
teachings,  rather  than  allow  them  to  build  their 
hopes  upon  a  false  conception  of  his  mission. 

This  passion  for  reality  is  not  only  the  work- 
ing principle  of  the  Christian  faith,  it  is  also 
the  dominant  characteristic  of  modern  learning. 
Science  makes  a  relentless  quest  for  facts. 
The  man  of  science  approaches  every  problem 
of  life  with  one  question — "What  are  the  facts?" 
He  is  willing  to  revise  his  theories,  or  to  re- 
nounce former  creeds  and  to  accept  new  ones, 
if  the  discovery  of  facts  demands  it.  And  in 
this  utter  fidelity  to  facts  both  science  and 
religion  agree. 

There  is  no  more  hopeful  omen  of  moral  and 
social  progress  than  this  burning  passion  for 
reality  everywhere.  If  science  is  sometimes  ar- 
rogant in  its  claims,  the  scientific  spirit  is  pre- 
63 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

paring  the  way  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord  by 
its  tremendous  emphasis  upon  reality.  If  there 
is  a  dearth  of  religious  enthusiasm  to-day,  there 
is  a  mighty  insistence  that  religion  shall  be 
genuine  and  that  life  shall  ring  true. 

What  does  intellectual  honesty  demand? 
First  of  all,  it  insists  that  there  is  an  everlasting 
distinction  between  truth  and  error.  It  also 
insists  that  the  truth  can  be  known,  and  that 
men  are  to  be  judged  by  the  way  they  use  the 
truth.  Furthermore,  intellectual  honesty  de- 
mands fidelity  to  one's  own  thinking.  It  will 
not  tolerate  verbal  jugglery  for  the  support  of 
a  pet  theory,  nor  pious  mouthing  with  no 
reality  in  experience.  The  frank  determination 
to  see  things  and  to  report  things  as  they  are 
is  the  very  essence  of  intellectual  honesty. 

The  lack  of  intellectual  honesty  is  nowhere 
more  apparent  than  in  the  handling  of  political 
issues.  The  rule  of  the  demagogue  would  be 
short-lived  if  the  citizen  approached  civic  prob- 
lems with  utter  open-mindedness.  The  greatest 
barrier  to  good  government  is  a  lack  of  intel- 
lectual candor  in  meeting  the  problems  of  the 
state. 

64 


INTELLECTUAL  HONESTY 

Men  come  to  the  Bible  in  the  same  partisan 
spirit.  They  have  some  theory  to  support,  or 
some  doctrine  to  prove,  instead  of  seeking  for 
the  teaching  of  the  Bible  regardless  of  what 
becomes  of  their  personal  views.  It  is  abso- 
lutely fatal  to  true  religious  character  to  make 
doctrines  an  end  in  themselves.  The  true  dis- 
ciple goes  to  the  Bible,  not  with  the  real  issue 
prejudged,  but  with  the  prayer,  "Teach  me  thy 
truth;  show  me  thy  way,  O  God."  And  if  the 
discovery  of  new  truth  demands  it,  he  must  be 
ready  to  change  his  beliefs  any  day.  The 
general  break-up  in  religious  beliefs  at  the 
present  time  is  an  indication,  not  of  mental 
instability,  but,  rather,  of  an  open-mindedness 
and  an  enthusiasm  for  the  truth  which  is  the 
very  soul  of  religious  progress. 

Intellectual  honesty  demands  also  that  we 
live  out  in  conduct  the  truth  we  believe.  Our 
thinking  on  any  subject  is  of  little  consequence 
unless  we  are  willing  to  act  upon  our  conclu- 
sions. What  one  thinks  soon  becomes  an  im- 
pertinence unless  he  acts.  The  empty  pretense 
of  feeding  religious  emotions  that  do  not  issue  in 
moral  conduct  is  the  shame  of  religion  and  the 
65 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

break-down  of  character.  The  scandal  of  reli- 
gion is  that  Christian  believers  often  feed  the 
deepest  emotions  on  the  soul,  and  then  allow 
their  energy  to  be  dissipated  in  singing  the 
"Glory  Song"  or  indulging  other  spiritual  ecsta- 
sies. The  inner  stirrings  of  our  holy  faith 
ought  not  to  be  despised  or  repressed.  They 
are  to  the  human  will  what  steam  is  to  the 
machinery.  But  they  must  be  harnessed  to 
serious  tasks;  they  must  be  given  worthy  work 
to  do.  Every  generation  of  religious  believers 
needs  to  be  stirred  by  the  spirit  of  the  Hebrew 
prophets.  Their  appeal  is  for  reality.  They 
heap  a  withering  scorn  upon  ceremonialism, 
upon  rites  and  prayers,  and  upon  all  machinery 
of  religion  that  does  not  link  itself  closely  to 
the  tasks  of  life. 

What  then  follows?  Manifestly,  this:  The 
importance  of  a  man's  thinking  depends  upon 
its  candor.  The  accuracy  of  one's  thought 
processes  cannot  be  trusted  unless  he  is  domi- 
nated at  every  step  by  a  determination  to  know 
things  as  they  really  are.  Intellectual  keenness 
alone  cannot  frame  a  sound  policy  for  the  state 
or  a  true  doctrine   of   religion.      Sincerity   in 

66 


INTELLECTUAL  HONESTY 

thinking  is  at  the  bottom  of  personal  character 
and  of  all  noble  moral  endeavor.  In  no  other 
way  than  by  the  absolute  soundness  of  the 
inner  spirit  can  truth  and  righteousness  prevail. 
But  the  Christian  faith  has  nothing  to  fear 
so  long  as  men  accept  the  intellectual  and 
moral  challenge  of  Christ,  "Come  and  see." 
President  King,  of  Oberlin  College,  has  well 
said,  "Truth  is  not  truth  until  it  has  been 
earned."  And  if  this  is  true,  the  highest 
obligation  of  the  Christian  mind  is  to  face 
the  facts,  to  work  over  and  to  assimilate  truth 
from  whatever  quarter  it  comes  and  thus 
make  it  our  very  own.  The  supreme  achieve- 
ment both  of  education  and  of  religion  is  the 
possession  of  guiding  ideals  and  dominant  con- 
victions. When  young  people  stand  upon  the 
threshold  of  life's  undertakings  the  questions 
with  which  to  greet  them  are  not:  "Have  you 
a  diploma?"  "What  is  your  wealth?"  "What 
is  your  vocation?"  These  are  important,  but 
a  thousandfold  more  important  is  it  to  ask: 
"Have  you  any  ideals  that  are  your  own? 
Have  you  any  convictions  for  which  you  would 
die  before  you  would  surrender  them?  Have 
67 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

you  a  mission  in  the  world  which  puts  upon 
you  a  mighty  compulsion?  Have  you  any 
burning  indignations,  and  fiery  enthusiasms 
which  stir  you  to  the  very  center  of  your  being?" 
If  so,  rejoice,  O  young  man!  These  are  your 
strength. 


68 


VIII 
THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  MIND 

THE  climax  of  the  great  commandment  is, 
"Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with 
all  thy  mind."  What  do  we  mean  by  the  reli- 
gion of  the  mind?  The  phrase  has  a  strange 
and  unnatural  sound.  The  religion  of  the  heart 
we  know.  But  is  there  some  reality  in  human 
experience  for  which  the  subject  of  this  chapter 
stands?  "Loving  God  with  the  mind" — what 
can  that  mean?  The  mind  investigates  and 
forms  judgments  and  discovers  truth.  It  is 
not  easy  to  think  of  the  mind  as  loving.  And 
yet,  unfamiliar  as  may  be  the  phrase  "loving 
with  the  mind,"  it  stands  for  something  vital 
in  our  experience.  Love  does  not  belong  to  the 
emotional  nature  alone. 

There  is  such  a  thing  as  the  affection  of  the 
mind.     For  example,  analyze  our  love  for  the 
69 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

old  home.  The  imagination  fondly  pictures  the 
house  in  which  we  lived,  the  lawn,  the  trees 
and  brooks.  All  the  surroundings  of  the  child- 
hood home  take  hold  upon  our  sentiment.  The 
memory  of  these  early  associations  is  an  un- 
failing fountain  of  delight.  The  thought  of  the 
sacrifice  and  noble  character  of  father  and 
mother  stirs  the  soul  and  it  pours  forth  its 
grateful  love.  But  the  home  appeals  to  another 
part  of  our  nature.  It  invites  thought.  The 
buildings  must  be  cared  for,  grounds  must  be 
kept,  instruction  and  training  must  be  provided 
for  the  children;  the  aged  must  be  given  com- 
fort and  happiness.  The  home  has  a  multitude 
of  interests  which  the  mind  must  serve  by 
hard,  sober  thinking.  What  will  minister  to 
the  higher  life  of  the  home?  What  books,  what 
art,  what  amusements,  what  associations  will 
realize  for  the  family  the  noblest  ideals  of  the 
home?  No  one  loves  his  home  genuinely  until 
his  mind  grapples  with  these  questions  seriously. 
Is  not  the  same  true  of  patriotism?  Love  of 
country  is  a  fine  sentiment.  The  heart  of  every 
normal  man  beats  a  little  faster  at  the  sight  of 
the  fields  and  rivers,  the  lakes  and  mountains  of 

70 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  MIND 

his  own  land,  as  he  says,  "This  is  my  own,  my 
native  land."  But  deeper  than  this  feeling  of 
delight  is  the  patriot's  admiration  of  the  insti- 
tutions and  opportunities  of  his  native  land. 
When  he  reads  the  history  and  enters  into  the 
struggles  of  the  nation,  and  undertakes  to  solve 
its  problems,  it  is  then  that  he  genuinely  loves 
his  country  with  the  mind.  Whatever  else  it 
may  be,  patriotism  is  loving  one's  country  with 
the  mind. 

There  is  likewise  a  love  of  the  mind  for  God. 
This  great  commandment  says  to  men:  "You 
owe  to  God  something  more  than  gratitude  for 
his  mercies,  and  reverence  for  his  character,  and 
obedience  to  his  will.  Search  out  the  truth 
which  he  has  revealed.  Find  out  his  ways; 
try  to  understand  him.  Your  hymns  of  praise 
and  adoration  are  not  enough;  give  him  the 
earnest  thoughts  of  your  minds."  This  con- 
ception of  religion  makes  it  a  larger  and  a 
nobler  thing.  It  is  not  chiefly  a  bit  of  devout 
sentiment  or  ecstatic  feeling,  or  even  benevolent 
endeavor.  It  is  heart  and  soul  and  mind — the 
whole  man — bowing  in  allegiance  at  the  feet  of 
God.  There  are  no  outlying  districts  of  human 
71 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

nature  unclaimed  by  the  Lord  of  life.  And  the 
crowning  act  of  allegiance  to  God  is  loving  him 
with  all  the  mind. 

But  this  is  not  the  popular  idea  of  religion. 
In  the  minds  of  many  the  domain  of  religion 
is  limited  to  the  moral  duties  and  spiritual 
experiences  of  men.  The  things  of  religion  are 
shut  up  as  in  so  many  tight  compartments, 
while  the  tasks  of  the  intellect  are  relegated  to 
the  secular.  In  spite,  however,  of  a  crude 
psychology  and  a  vicious  theology  partitioning 
life  into  the  sacred  and  secular,  the  clamorous 
wants  of  men  and  the  voice  of  the  Bible  call 
for  a  religion  that  has  in  it  mind.  One  cannot 
be  truly  religious  unless  he  loves  God  with  the 
mind.  The  Christian's  intellect  is  not  shackled. 
To  become  a  Christian  does  not  mean  that 
reason  is  to  be  either  vacated  or  flouted.  The 
Christian  ideal  is  to  make  the  mind  clear  and 
strong  while  the  heart  perpetually  soars  up  to 
do  with  the  things  that  are  eternal. 

There  are  two  considerations  which  enforce 

the   command    to   love    God    with   the   mind. 

First,  it  is  the  mind's  love  for  God  which  gives 

vitality   and  efficiency   to  religious   character. 

72 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  MIND 

Unless  the  mind  feeds  upon  the  great  truths  of 
our  holy  faith  the  emotions  of  religion  soon  die 
out.  The  truths  of  the  Bible — the  Fatherhood 
of  God,  the  Lordship  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  de- 
structiveness  of  sin,  the  glory  of  immortality — 
these  are  the  fuel  which  have  kept  burning  the 
mighty  enthusiasms  of  Christianity.  Not  till  a 
man's  mind  takes  hold  of  the  fact  of  his  respon- 
sibility to  Almighty  God  does  he  take  up 
earnestly  the  moral  duties  of  life.  When  we 
leap  to  the  sublime  conviction  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  Son  of  God  we  are  ready  to  take 
upon  our  hands  the  tasks  of  the  Kingdom.  If 
the  mind  strongly  lays  hold  upon  the  truth 
of  immortality,  we  have  the  mightiest  inspira- 
tion for  holy  and  courageous  living.  It  is  a 
false  reverence  which  shuts  the  mysteries  of 
religion  out  of  the  region  of  fearless,  earnest 
thinking.  Some  are  afraid  to  bring  the  teach- 
ings of  religion  to  the  test  of  a  searching  intel- 
lectual investigation.  When  the  doctrine  of 
evolution  was  first  proclaimed  by  the  scientist 
some  feared  the  faith  of  the  Bible  was  imperiled. 
Still  others  dare  not  raise  questions  as  to  when 
and  how  the  Bible  was  written,  and  as  to  its 
73 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

literary  form,  and  its  use,  lest  its  truths  may 
be  jeopardized.  What  a  mistake!  If  the  Bible 
cannot  stand  the  brightest  light  which  the 
intellect  can  turn  upon  it,  it  is  not  good  enough 
for  the  heart  and  soul.  And  no  religion  will 
long  survive  and  serve  effectively  the  deep 
needs  of  life  that  does  not  treat  the  sacred 
things  of  life  with  intellectual  honesty.  Now, 
it  is  this  unwarranted  fear  that  the  Christian 
faith  cannot  bear  the  searchlight  of  the  intellect 
that  is  responsible  for  much  of  the  prevailing 
skepticism.  Sober  and  reverent  thinking  upon 
the  moral  duties  of  life  will  bring  a  new  day 
for  the  things  of  the  spirit. 

But  this  does  not  mean  that  men  by  their 
wisdom  are  to  find  out  God.  The  mysteries  of 
spiritual  life  are  not  disclosed  by  intellectual 
searching  alone.  The  methods  of  the  expert 
in  psychology  or  of  the  scientific  laboratory 
will  not  open  to  us  the  secret  of  conversion  and 
of  peace  with  God.  Nevertheless,  the  great 
problems  in  life  are  not  to  be  dodged  in  our 
thinking.  Faith  is  never  so  secure  as  when 
the  mind  faces  reverently  but  fearlessly  the 
mysteries  of  God  in  the  world,  trying  to  under- 

74 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  MIND 

stand  their  meaning.  Mere  busyness  in  doing 
good  is  not  enough.  The  contempt  for  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity  which  leads  one  to 
say,  "Never  mind  what  you  believe,  whether 
you  believe  anything  or  not;  come  and  let  us 
do  a  lot  of  good,"  is  most  superficial.  Men  will 
not  stay  by  their  duty  till  the  end  unless  they 
are  sustained  in  their  enthusiasm  by  the  mighty 
beliefs  of  religion,  and  these  fundamental  Chris- 
tian beliefs  ground  upon  intellectual  convic- 
tions. The  religion  of  the  mind,  therefore, 
makes  vital  and  permanent  the  religion  of  the 
heart. 

There  is  a  second  consideration.  The  works 
of  Christ  claim  the  highest  energies  of  the 
mind.  The  moral  and  spiritual  tasks  of  the 
church  are  at  bottom  intellectual  problems.  If 
some  duty  is  to  be  done,  it  is  mere  cant  to  talk 
of  praying  our  way  through,  expecting  an 
answer  to  prayer  to  relieve  us  of  the  responsi- 
bility of  sober  thought.  The  poverty  of  society 
must  be  challenged  by  Christianity.  But  by 
what  means  is  the  poverty  to  be  cured?  Men 
ought  to  confess  Christ,  but  by  what  kind  of 
confession?  Men  must  be  won  to  discipleship, 
75 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

but  how  are  converts  to  be  made?  Gigantic 
evils  are  to  be  overthrown;  but  what  means 
will  be  successful?  The  young  life  of  the 
community  must  be  claimed  for  the  Kingdom, 
but  what  sort  of  teaching  and  training  will  be 
most  effective?  Men  ought  to  worship  God, 
but  how  are  adoration  and  devotion  to  be  ex- 
pressed? All  these  are  questions  with  which 
the  mind  must  grapple.  In  the  presence  of 
the  hard  things  to  be  done  in  the  saving  of 
the  world  there  is  a  deal  of  lazy  indifference 
which  assumes  the  name  of  piety.  If  a  be- 
setting sin  is  to  be  overcome,  prayer  without 
honest  thinking  will  avail  little.  No  amount  of 
prayer  will  correct  the  moral  standards  of  one 
who  is  self-indulgent.  Worship  will  not  cure  a 
mean  man  of  stinginess.  He  must  see  the  dis- 
proportion between  his  income  and  his  giving. 
The  problem  of  higher  personal  conduct  and 
of  better  society  can  be  solved  only  by  an 
"acute  perception  of  the  difference  between 
right  and  wrong,  a  clear  conception  of  duty, 
and  an  appreciation  of  the  solemn  obligations 
of  a  trust."  The  great  enterprises  of  the 
Kingdom  wait  for  men  who  love  God  with  all 
76 


THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  MIND 

the  heart  and  with  all  the  soul  and  with  all  the 
mind. 

Henceforth,  O  God,  let  me  love  thee  with  all 
my  mind! 


77 


IX 

EDUCATION  AND  VISION 

THERE  is  a  splendid  phrase  in  the  writings 
of  Saint  Paul  which  suggests  a  good  work- 
ing definition  of  Christian  Education — "The 
eyes  of  their  understanding  were  lightened. " 
The  mind  is  the  seeing  faculty  of  the  soul.  Its 
chief  function,  like  that  of  the  eyes,  is  to  see. 
But  accurate,  discriminating  sight  depends  upon 
training  the  eye  and  judgment  in  determining 
the  color,  the  quality,  and  the  location  of  a 
thing. 

There  is  a  popular  demand  everywhere  to-day 
for  trained  leaders.  Vision  makes  leadership, 
and  leadership  is  the  hope  of  democracy.  It  is 
a  false  theory  of  democracy  that  depreciates 
the  value  of  educated  leadership.  The  voice  of 
the  people  is  the  voice  of  God  only  when  the 
judgment  of  the  people  is  instructed  and  guided 
78 


EDUCATION  AND  VISION 

by  men  of  high  ideals  and  clear  vision.  The 
popular  mind  has  an  instinct  for  the  right,  but 
it  must  be  guided.  It  needs  a  discriminating 
foresight,  else  it  is  blind  and  unreliable.  James 
Russell  Lowell  was  right:  "In  the  long  run  the 
judgment  of  the  plain  people  is  reliable."  But 
in  the  short  run  their  judgment  is  not  trust- 
worthy. The  great  questions  of  government 
and  of  religion  can  be  handled  wisely  by  the 
common  people  only  when  they  have  the  in- 
struction and  guidance  of  good  men  as  leaders. 
A  leader  is  one  who  interprets  the  people  to 
themselves,  and  the  power  to  interpret  the 
mind  and  the  heart  of  the  people  to  themselves 
belongs  only  to  the  men  of  vision.  Democracy 
imperatively  needs  such  leadership.  Without  it 
democracy  becomes  a  mob.  What  fits  men  for 
leadership  among  their  fellows?  Not  goodness 
alone,  not  learning  alone.  Something  more  in- 
tellectual and  spiritual  and  virile  than  either 
piety  or  learning — the  power  to  see  and  to 
make  others  see.  According  to  George  Adam 
Smith,  the  vision  of  the  Hebrew  prophet  was 
the  power  of  forming  an  ideal,  or  seeing  the 
possibilities  in  a  thing,  the  power  to  discrim- 

79 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

inate  between  what  is  true  and  false,  and  also 
to  discern  the  consequences  of  conduct  and  the 
future  trend  of  events.  In  every  age  the  leader 
has  these  three  powers:  the  power  of  forming 
an  ideal,  the  power  to  see  the  everlasting  dif- 
ference between  right  and  wrong,  and  the  power 
to  discover  the  will  and  the  way  of  God  among 
men. 

The  classical  illustration  of  the  power  of 
vision  is  the  well-known  story  of  Moses.  He 
was  a  prosperous  shepherd  in  Midian.  To 
Moses  the  burning  bush  which  he  saw  became 
vocal  with  a  divine  message.  To  the  people 
of  Midian  who  passed  by  this  was  only  an 
ordinary  bush.  Moses  saw  a  meaning  in  the 
bush  which  was  hidden  from  other  eyes.  The 
eyes  of  his  understanding  were  lightened.  He 
saw  yonder  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile  his  own 
people  with  their  higher  life  being  crushed  out 
by  intolerable  industrial  wrongs.  He  saw  in 
them  a  capacity  for  moral  leadership  and 
spiritual  idealism.  He  had  a  vision  of  the 
sympathy  of  the  divine  Hand  outstretched  in 
wonder-working  power  for  the  deliverance  of 
his  people.  For  Moses,  the  horizon  of  the 
80 


EDUCATION  AND  VISION 

centuries  was  pushed  back,  and  he  saw  the 
glory  of  a  spiritual  empire  which  was  hidden 
from  other  eyes. 

It  is  this  power  to  see  the  invisible  things  of 
life  which  gives  creative  ability  of  every  sort. 
The  richness  and  the  promise  of  life  are  bound 
up  intimately  with  the  power  of  vision.  It  is 
the  quality  of  spiritual  vision  which  determines 
the  direction  and  the  success  of  every  human 
life.  The  difference  between  the  youth  who  is 
seeking  an  education  and  the  scores  who  are 
enjoying  the  pleasures  of  the  day  is,  one  has  a 
vision  of  the  future,  while  the  other  sees  only 
the  present.  There  is  no  higher  form  of  faith 
than  that  of  the  young  man  or  woman  who  is 
forsaking  the  pleasures  of  the  present  for  the 
higher  joys  and  achievements  of  the  future. 

This  same  power  of  vision  is  the  secret  of 
business  success.  In  the  world  of  trade  and  of 
industry  one  man  lives  from  hand  to  mouth, 
while  another  capitalizes  the  present,  doing 
business  to-day  in  the  light  of  the  economic 
principles  which  reach  far  out  into  the  future. 
The  same  law  is  illustrated  also  in  the  field  of 
invention.  Every  great  inventor  sees  how  the 
81 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

material  needs  of  life  can  be  met  by  the  mastery 
of  the  forces  of  nature.  The  difference  between 
the  Wright  Brothers,  of  the  city  of  Dayton, 
and  a  hundred  other  mechanics  working  with 
the  same  steel  and  wood,  was,  the  Wright 
Brothers  saw  a  vision  of  men  flying  through  the 
air. 

We  see  the  same  principle  operative  in  the 
history  of  races  as  well  as  of  individuals.  The 
American  Indian  lived  only  for  the  present. 
He  roamed  the  forests  and  fields,  fished  in  the 
streams,  and  gathered  the  fruits  of  the  land, 
unmindful  of  the  future.  The  white  man  lived 
for  the  future.  He  cleared  the  forests,  broke 
the  prairies,  built  homes,  and  founded  schools 
and  churches.  He  constructed  highways  and 
laid  the  foundation  of  vast  empires  of  wealth 
and  civilization.  He  supplanted  the  Indian  by 
his  vision  of  the  future.  He  said,  "I  will  look 
out  for  the  generations  to  come."  The  result 
was,  the  race  that  lived  from  hand  to  mouth, 
like  Esau,  caring  chiefly  for  to-day's  mess,  was 
driven  before  the  face  of  the  white  man.  Sec- 
retary Shaw,  of  Iowa,  once  said,  "There  is  a 
divine  fiat  which  decrees  that  the  race  that 


EDUCATION  AND  VISION 

will  not  civilize  must  get  off  the  earth."  The 
driving  out  of  the  Indian  from  the  plains  and 
forests  of  America  was  more  the  working  out 
of  this  divine  principle  than  the  ruthless  cruelty 
of  the  white  man's  greed  and  extortion.  Ben- 
jamin Kidd,  in  a  remarkable  book,  The  Prin- 
ciples of  Western  Civilization,  explains  the 
growing  power  of  the  Western  nations.  He 
declares  that  the  Oriental  nations  root  their 
civilization  in  the  past,  that  their  peoples  are 
always  looking  backward,  hence  there  is  no 
progress.  The  second  stage  in  the  world's 
civilization  was  marked  by  the  secularists  or  the 
utilitarians,  who  built  up  a  civilization  on  the 
present.  Present  interest,  present  happiness, 
present  strength  were  the  ideals  of  the  utili- 
tarian. Mr.  Kidd  contends  that  Western  civili- 
zation did  not  accept  either  the  view  of  the 
secularist  or  of  the  Oriental.  Instead  of  basing 
civilization  in  the  past,  or  in  the  present,  the 
Western  nations  rooted  their  civilization  in  the 
future.  The  thing  which  characterizes  the 
Western  nations  is  faith.  Their  eye  is  upon 
the  future,  not  upon  the  past  or  upon  the 
present.  What  Mr.  Kidd  calls  the  "principle 
83 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

of  projected  efficiency"  in  the  Bible  is  called 
faith.  And  it  is  this  vision  of  the  future  that 
explains  the  forward  leaps  of  Western  civiliza- 
tion. The  Proverb  writer  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment puts  it  in  these  graphic  words:  "Where 
there  is  no  vision  the  people  perish,"  or  "be- 
come a  mob." 

The  mind  must  be  enlightened  in  order  to 
see  accurately  and  reliably.  To  give  this  train- 
ing in  mind  enlightenment  is  the  high  task  of  ed- 
ucation. True  education  aims  to  lead  forth  or  to 
unfold  the  powers  of  the  higher  life.  To  educate 
is  to  lead  forth  and  to  line  up  for  efficient  action 
the  inherent  powers  of  the  human  soul.  The  old 
conception  of  education  as  a  cramming  process, 
or  the  filling  of  a  mental  vacuum  with  facts 
and  information,  is  both  crude  and  unworkable. 
Of  course  the  schools  must  sharpen  the  tools 
with  which  men  are  to  do  the  world's  work. 
They  must  impart  technical  knowledge  and 
mechanical  skill.  But  of  far  greater  impor- 
tance is  guiding  the  seeing  faculty  of  the  soul. 
To  give  to  life  ideals  and  power  to  make  ac- 
curate moral  discriminations,  to  impart  a  noble 
sense  of  honor  and  an  appreciation  of  God's 
84 


EDUCATION  AND  VISION 

working  in  human  progress — in  short,  to  make 
men  of  vision — is  the  chief  business  of  Christian 
education. 

The  principle  of  wireless  telegraphy  holds  in 
the  higher  life.  The  wireless  instrument  is  so 
adapted  and  so  adjusted  as  to  take  up  and 
transmit  the  wingless  messages  flying  through 
vast  spaces  of  air  and  ether.  But  the  instru- 
ment will  not  receive  and  transmit  the  wireless 
messages  until  it  has  been  constructed  and 
sensitized  according  to  a  definite  plan.  Men 
who  are  to  receive  and  interpret  the  divine 
messages  to  their  fellows  must  be  men  of  high 
ideals  and  sensitive  honor. 

The  crying  need  in  all  planes  of  our  common 

life  to-day  is  for  men  of  vision,  for  educated 

leaders.     In  business  the  remedy  for  ruthless 

greed  and  cunning  craft  and  rank  dishonesty  is 

in  educated  men  who  will  not  bury  themselves, 

nor  sell  themselves  in  the  superficial  business 

of  buying  and  selling  things.     Society  needs 

men  who  will  look  upon  wealth  as  a  means  of 

well-being,  men  who  will  know  that  they  were 

not  meant  to  be  slaves  of  things,  men  who  will 

know  that  wealth  was  meant  to  be  an  instru- 
85 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

ment  for  spiritual  ends;  men  who  "will  put 
gold  where  it  belongs,  where  it  is  in  the  New 
Jerusalem,  a  shining  pavement  beneath  the  feet, 
upon  which  the  higher  uses  of  life  may  move 
smoothly  to  and  fro  on  their  errands  of  human 
service,  instead  of  beating  it  out  into  a  firma- 
ment until  it  hides  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars, 
aye,  and  the  very  face  of  God  himself."  Above 
all,  we  need  men  of  high  ideals  and  clear  dis- 
cernment and  sensitive  conscience,  who  will  al- 
ways heed  the  call  of  duty  as  the  voice  of  God. 
The  world  waits  for  such  leaders  in  business, 
in  government,  in  religion — and  everywhere. 


86 


DOES  EDUCATION  ENDANGER  FAITH? 

THERE  is  no  greater  question  confronting 
us  to-day  than  this:  How  can  education 
and  Christian  faith  go  on  in  harmony  together? 
A  recent  college  graduate  gave  the  writer  this 
personal  confidence:  "Since  I  went  to  college 
my  faith  has  changed  completely.  I  used  to 
believe  in  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God. 
Since  my  study  of  science  and  philosophy  I 
believe  he  was  only  a  great  and  good  man — 
the  greatest  religious  teacher  who  has  ever 
lived.  I  still  believe  in  the  Bible,  but  not  in 
the  way  I  used  to  believe.  I  have  not  given  up 
my  faith  entirely,  but  O!  it  is  so  changed." 

It  is  such  an  experience  as  this,  which  is  by 
no  means  uncommon,  that  makes  the  question 
raised  by  this  chapter  all  the  more  vital — "Does 
87 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

education  endanger  faith?"  Unquestionably, 
some  education  does  endanger  faith.  For  ex- 
ample, the  first  steps  in  scientific  studies  are 
quite  likely  to  unsettle  religious  beliefs.  It  is 
inevitable  that  the  increase  of  knowledge  should 
modify  our  childhood  conceptions  of  religion. 
This  process  of  readjustment  of  faith  and 
knowledge  is  always  a  trying  experience.  There 
are  two  temptations  which  every  earnest  student 
experiences.  The  first  is  to  dispute  the  facts  of 
modern  learning  in  the  fancied  interest  of  sav- 
ing one's  faith.  But  this  is  the  way  of  intel- 
lectual dishonesty  and  moral  bankruptcy.  The 
second  temptation  is  hastily  to  abandon  all 
faith  out  of  a  mistaken  fidelity  to  the  facts  of 
science.  This  is  alike  unsatisfactory,  for  life 
must  be  lived.  It  has  interests  which  are  larger 
than  the  laboratory  or  the  market.  Life  has 
questions  which  can  be  answered  and  interests 
which  can  be  safeguarded  only  by  a  living 
faith. 

What  is  the  way  out?  First,  in  a  fearless 
recognition  of  the  facts  of  science  as  facts. 
Nothing  is  to  be  gained  by  ignoring  or  try- 
ing to  explain  away  undoubted  scientific  facts. 

88 


DOES   EDUCATION   ENDANGER   FAITH? 

Secondly,  by  discriminating  clearly  between  a 
living  faith,  and  our  interpretation  of  the 
teachings  of  religion.  Now,  in  order  to  find 
the  way  out,  holding  to  all  that  science  has  to 
teach  reliably,  and  at  the  same  time  keeping 
the  faith,  we  need  to  see  that  there  must  be  a 
division  of  labor  for  science  and  religion.  Each 
has  its  own  field.  To  science  belong  such 
questions  as  these:  What  is  the  nature  of  the 
world?  By  what  process  did  it  come  to  its 
present  form?  What  is  its  history?  To  religion 
belong  questions  as  to  the  cause,  and  purpose 
and  destiny  of  the  world  and  its  life.  The 
chief  questions  are:  What?  When?  Why?  and 
Whither?  When  the  physical  sciences  have 
spoken  their  last  word  in  biology  and  geology 
and  evolution,  the  questions  as  to  the  ultimate 
end  of  all  things,  and  the  meaning  and  purpose 
and  destiny  of  all  things,  remain  unanswered. 
The  answers  to  these  questions  belong  to  reli- 
gion. The  religionist,  therefore,  is  not  to  de- 
spise the  work  of  the  scientist.  Neither  is  the 
scientist  to  discredit  the  things  of  faith.  The 
simple  fact  is  that  life  is  higher  than  laboratory 
methods  or  religious  creeds.  There  is  a  place 
89 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

for  the  use  of  both  the  test  tube  and  religious 
insight.  And  neither  is  in  any  way  discredited 
by  the  findings  of  the  other. 

Further,  we  are  not  wholly  brain.  There  is  a 
side  of  our  nature  which  we  call  moral  and 
spiritual  that  has  unutterable  longings  after 
God.  The  proper  development  of  the  mind 
through  education  will  not  tend  to  suppress 
these  spiritual  yearnings,  but,  rather,  to  give 
them  intelligent  direction  and  expression.  As 
the  mind  becomes  clearer  in  its  perception  of 
truth,  and  stronger  in  its  grasp  of  the  facts  of 
life,  fanaticism  disappears  and  religious  faith  is 
seen  to  be  the  irresistible  outgoing  of  our  souls 
after  love  and  righteousness.  The  old  Greek 
philosopher  reached  a  view  of  the  world  which 
is  essentially  spiritual.  And  so  when  the  intel- 
lect most  truly  finds  itself  it  turns  toward  God. 
The  Hebrew  poet's  thirst  of  soul  for  God  is  an 
expression  of  what  is  universal  in  human  ex- 
perience. The  whole  human  nature,  intellect, 
and  conscience  is  essentially  religious.  When 
the  fact  is  recognized  that  religion  belongs  to  a 
normal  human  experience,  education,  which  is 
only  the  highest  and  fullest  self-expression,  will 
90 


DOES   EDUCATION   ENDANGER   FAITH? 

no  longer  be  looked  upon  as  unfriendly  to  true 
religion. 

The  faith  of  the  Christian  student  often  loses 
its  ardor  in  the  schools  for  another  reason. 
Spiritual  culture  is  sacrificed  in  the  interest  of 
intellectual  tasks.  In  the  new  environment  of 
the  college  or  the  university  the  early  habits  of 
Christian  worship  are  sometimes  abandoned. 
Sunday,  like  any  other  day,  is  often  used  for 
study.  The  routine  of  the  library  and  the 
laboratory  is  given  right  of  way.  Prayer, 
Bible-reading,  and  public  worship  easily  become 
matters  of  convenience.  Religion  is  not  aban- 
doned deliberately,  but  it  is  carelessly  neglected. 
The  penalty  of  this  neglect  is  an  inevitable  loss 
of  spiritual  vigor  and  enthusiasm. 

Then,  again,  the  atmosphere  of  the  school 
tends  to  develop  a  critical  habit  of  mind.  This 
is  but  natural.  The  mind  must  be  trained  to 
discriminate.  The  open-minded  student  goes 
everywhere  with  an  interrogation  mark.  He  is 
not  a  caviling  doubter,  but  a  fearless  inquirer. 
He  insists  upon  evidence  before  belief,  upon 
testing  everything  by  laboratory  methods.  But 
if  this  habit  of  mind  is  allowed  to  crowd  out 
91 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

the  seasons  of  the  soul  for  prayer  and  for 
spiritual  culture,  leanness  of  faith  is  inevitable. 
The  life  of  devotion  can  be  smothered  by  an 
exaggerated  intellectualism.  There  are  holy 
mysteries  and  visions  of  the  deeper  things  of 
life  which  can  be  perceived  only  in  the  atmos- 
phere of  reverence  and  obedience.  Emerson 
once  said:  "I  find  a  plant  in  my  nature  called 
reverence  which  needs  to  be  cultivated  at  least 
once  a  week.  For  that  reason  I  am  a  regular 
attendant  upon  public  worship."  We  may  have 
no  satisfactory  philosophy  of  prayer,  but  in 
spite  of  the  logic  of  unbelief  men  will  believe 
and  pray  and  hope. 

Education  may  be  made  a  valuable  ally  of 
religion.  True  intellectual  culture  prepares  the 
way  for  the  richest  spiritual  experiences.  Ig- 
norance is  everywhere  the  parent  of  super- 
stition. The  advance  of  true  learning  will 
reveal  the  limitations  of  learning.  The  scholar 
is  always  the  reverently  modest  man.  He 
recognizes  that  life  has  meanings  and  values 
which  he  cannot  measure.  His  determination 
to  find  the  truth  and  to  live  by  the  truth  is 
close  akin  to  the  spirit  of  obedience  to  the 
92 


DOES  EDUCATION  ENDANGER  FAITH? 

heavenly  vision.  Further,  education  prepares 
the  way  for  the  Christian  interpretation  of  life. 
The  educated  man's  world,  with  its  vast  physical 
spaces  and  forces,  with  its  ages  on  ages  in 
preparation  for  human  life,  with  its  millen- 
niums of  history  and  of  progress,  is  an  utter 
bewilderment  without  a  God,  who  is  the  Cause 
and  Father  of  all.  Without  the  faith  and  hope 
of  religion  man  loses  his  bearings  in  the  world. 
The  north  star  is  no  more  necessary  to  chart 
the  seas  for  the  mariner  than  the  Bible's  view 
of  the  world  is  necessary  to  give  to  human  lives 
meaning  and  direction  and  hope.  To  give  to 
life  moral  impulse  and  spiritual  purpose  is 
quite  as  necessary  for  successful  living  as  is 
sharpening  the  tools  with  which  we  are  to 
work. 

The  best  refutation  of  the  charge  that  educa- 
tion makes  for  unbelief  is  to  see  the  stream  of 
stalwart  believers  pouring  forth  every  year 
from  the  schools.  Thousands  of  the  picked 
young  men  and  women  of  the  colleges  are 
offering  themselves  for  missionary  service,  for 
the  Christian  ministry,  and  for  various  forms 
of  social  service.     The  trend  of  both  scientific 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

and  philosophic  thinking  in  the  universities  is 
more  pronouncedly  Christian  than  ever  before. 
There  is  a  superficial  intellectualism  that  sits  in 
the  seat  of  the  scornful.  But  as  learning  be- 
comes more  thorough  it  also  becomes  more 
reverent.  There  is  too  in  institutions  of  learn- 
ing that  make  only  a  formal  recognition  of 
religion  imminent  danger  of  faith  becoming 
dead.  But  wherever  there  is  a  frank  recogni- 
tion of  Christian  experience  as  one  of  the  facts 
of  life,  wherever  men  tie  up  their  lives  in 
loyalty  to  Jesus  Christ  as  Lord  and  Master, 
the  college  is  a  mighty  promoter  of  moral  char- 
acter and  religious  faith.  The  highest  scholar- 
ship is  never  hostile  to  true  religion.  They  are 
mutually  dependent.  No  one  comes  to  the 
fullest  appreciation  of  the  reality  and  power  of 
the  spiritual  life  unless  he  cultivates  an  in- 
quiring love  for  truth  everywhere.  The  precious 
things  with  which  religion  deals,  because  they 
are  infinitely  precious,  must  be  illuminated  and 
interpreted  by  the  light  of  pure  learning.  There 
is  no  truth  that  is  at  war  with  any  other  truth 
in  any  part  of  God's  universe.  There  is  no 
truth  of  science  or  of  philosophy  or  of  history 

94 


DOES  EDUCATION   ENDANGER  FAITH? 

that  can  impair  the  reality  or  the  power  of 
religious  truth.  And  so  religion  need  not  fear 
the  most  searching  investigations  of  scholarship, 
because  all  truth  is  of  God.  Scholarship  dare 
not  scorn  religion,  because  religion  proclaims 
truth  which  is  vital  to  the  most  worth-while 
life.  True  learning  does  not  destroy  faith;  it, 
rather,  invigorates  and  reenforces  it.  The 
teaching  of  the  modern  sciences  has  placed  the 
unique  authority  and  inspiration  of  the  Bible 
upon  a  securer  foundation  than  ever  before; 
it  has  given  a  new  vindication  to  the  facts  of 
Christian  experience;  it  has  deepened  our  belief 
in  the  imperishable  honor  and  worth  of  human 
life,  and  has  quickened  once  again  the  ever- 
lasting hope  of  the  race.  "Learning  has  not 
been  the  foe  of  the  spirit,  but  has  given  to  our 
faith  a  new  expression,  a  new  interpretation, 
and  a  new  apologetic." 

The  only  real  danger  that  religion  suffers 
from  education  is  in  the  neglect  of  learning. 
Ignorant  piety  can  never  conquer  the  kingdoms 
of  this  world.  Indeed,  it  is  quite  certain  to 
become  a  nuisance.  On  the  other  hand,  a  false 
intellectualism  does  endanger  faith.  To  neglect 
95 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

the  means  of  spiritual  culture  through  devotion 
to  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  is  to  imperil  faith. 
To  refuse  to  recognize  the  findings  of  modern 
science  undermines  the  foundations  of  moral 
integrity  and  religious  character.  But  true 
education  prepares  the  way  of  the  Lord. 
Scholarship,  like  religion,  finds  its  highest  aim 
in  meeting  the  needs  of  human  life.  To  inter- 
pret the  needs  of  mankind  and  then  to  serve 
these  needs  effectively  with  a  reverent  scholar- 
ship, and  an  intelligent  faith — that  is  the 
supreme  business  of  Christian  education. 


96 


XI 
THE  LIMITATIONS  OF  KNOWLEDGE 

IT  is  always  disquieting  to  discover  that 
there  is  so  much  we  do  not  know  in  com- 
parison with  what  we  do  know.  Naturally,  the 
suspicion  arises  that  if  more  were  known,  our 
present  knowledge  might  prove  to  be  worth- 
less. This  is  especially  true  in  matters  of 
religion.  The  fear  prevails  that  if  we  knew 
more  about  the  Bible,  its  teachings  might  be 
discredited.  If  we  knew  more  about  the  mys- 
teries of  life,  we  might  believe  less  in  prayer, 
and  in  divine  forgiveness,  and  in  the  immortal 
life.  In  other  words,  may  not  our  knowledge 
of  spiritual  things  be  so  incomplete  as  to  render 
it  untrustworthy? 

This  persistent  misunderstanding  comes  from 
the  failure  to  recognize  the  fact  that  Chris- 
tianity is  not  a  formal  science.     The  facts  of 
97 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

religion  are  not  to  be  discovered  and  dealt  with 
like  the  truths  of  mathematics  and  chemistry. 
Religion  is  an  attitude  of  soul.  It  is  a  way  of 
life.  It  has  to  do  with  the  experience  of  men 
in  the  actual  living  of  life.  The  worth  of  reli- 
gion, therefore,  has  to  be  tested,  not  by  formu- 
las, but  by  living  life  in  obedience  to  its 
teachings.  If  this  is  true,  our  religion  is  in  no 
way  discredited  by  the  fact  that  our  knowledge 
of  spiritual  things  is  incomplete. 

The  apostle  Paul  gives  a  rare  insight  into 
the  significance  of  the  limitations  of  religious 
knowledge  in  these  words:  "When  I  was  a 
child  I  spoke  as  a  child,  I  felt  as  a  child,  I 
thought  as  a  child;  now  that  I  have  become  a 
man  I  have  put  away  childish  things."  That  is, 
to  childhood  belong  the  alphabet,  the  toys,  and 
the  games;  to  manhood  belong  the  tasks,  the 
problems,  the  sciences,  and  civilization  of  men. 
The  A  B  C's  of  the  alphabet  are  not  to  be 
despised  because  they  are  the  beginning  of  our 
knowledge  of  literature.  "Two  times  two  are 
four"  is  a  small  part  of  the  science  of  mathe- 
matics, but  it  is  a  part.  In  childhood  we  know, 
but  only  in  part.  So  with  respect  to  spiritual 
98 


LIMITATIONS  OF  KNOWLEDGE 

things.  The  childhood  stage  of  spiritual  things 
is  not  to  be  despised.  We  know,  though  it  is 
only  in  part. 

There  are  three  facts  concerning  religious 
knowledge  that  should  always  be  borne  in  mind. 
First,  there  is  much  that  is  not  known,  yet  some 
things  are  certain.  If  the  believer  is  honest 
with  himself,  he  frankly  says,  "There  is  much 
that  I  do  not  know."  He  believes  in  God,  yet 
how  little  he  really  knows  about  the  nature  of 
God!  He  believes  in  the  care  of  the  divine 
Father  for  his  children,  but  he  has  no  philosophy 
of  Providence  that  satisfies  even  himself.  He 
believes  in  prayer,  but  he  has  no  adequate 
explanation  of  the  helpfulness  of  prayer.  He 
believes  in  immortal  life,  but  he  has  no  knowl- 
edge of  the  great  beyond  which  satisfies  his 
cravings.  Concerning  every  great  doctrine  of 
the  Christian  faith  he  says,  "We  know  only 
in  part,  but  we  know."  We  see  as  in  a  mirror 
darkly,  and  yet  we  see.  We  see  something,  not 
ghosts,  not  empty  nothings,  they  are  realities. 
They  are  invisible  things,  but  not  unreal.  The 
religious  man  accepts  certain  facts  in  human 
experience,  such  as  truth  and  righteousness,  and 
99 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

duty,  and  conscience,  because  in  the  living  of 
life  they  are  inescapable.  These  spiritual  facts 
commend  themselves  to  sane  reason  because 
they  are  known  for  the  practical  ends  of  living. 
There  is  a  vast  region  of  the  unknown  sur- 
rounding every  great  fact  of  spiritual  ex- 
perience.   We  know  only  in  part,  but  we  know. 

We  do  well  also  to  remember  that  incomplete 
knowledge  is  not  peculiar  to  the  things  of  the 
spirit.  Multitudes  are  using  with  satisfaction 
the  electric  car  and  light  who  have  but  little 
scientific  knowledge  of  electricity.  The  im- 
portant thing  is  to  know  how  to  find  and 
utilize  this  unseen  force  in  serving  the  intelli- 
gent ends  of  living.  In  like  manner  there  are  a 
few  great  religious  truths  which  are  demanded 
for  strong,  helpful,  victorious  living — such  as 
God,  prayer,  forgiveness,  immortality.  We 
know  in  part,  but  "we  know  the  grace  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."  We  know  only  in  part, 
but  "we  know  him  whom  we  have  believed." 
We  know  only  in  part,  but  "we  know  that  if  our 
earthly  tabernacle  be  dissolved,  we  have  a 
building  of  God." 

Again,  we  do  well  to  remember  that  what  we 
100 


LIMITATIONS  OF  KNOWLEDGE 

do  know  is  not  discredited  by  what  is  not 
known.  The  persistent  mistake  which  is  made 
by  many  cheap  critics  of  religion  is  in  thinking 
that  because  Christianity  is  not  fully  known, 
or  cannot  be  reduced  to  hard  and  fast  scientific 
statements,  its  teachings  are  untrustworthy. 
We  look  through  the  telescope  at  the  planet 
Mars  and  ask  the  astronomer  what  is  known 
about  Mars.  He  tells  us  the  distance  of  the 
planet  from  the  earth,  its  size,  its  movements, 
its  atmosphere,  and  so  forth.  But,  after  all, 
this  knowledge  is  incomplete.  It  is  only  a 
small  part  of  what  we  want  to  know  about  the 
planet.  We  ask  is  Mars  inhabited?  If  in- 
habited, are  its  inhabitants  like  the  men  and 
women  on  the  earth?  And  if  inhabited  by 
human  beings  like  ourselves,  what  is  the  char- 
acter of  their  civilization?  Have  they  institu- 
tions of  government,  religion,  and  education  like 
ours?  To  all  such  inquiries  the  astronomer 
makes  no  answer.  We  soon  discover  that  what 
he  really  knows  about  Mars  is  very  small  in 
comparison  with  what  is  not  known.  But  these 
unanswered  questions  in  no  way  affect  the 
reliability  and  value  of  the  things  that  are 
101 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

known.  The  important  thing  is  that  we  know 
certain  things  about  the  heavenly  bodies  which 
have  to  do  in  a  practical  way  with  our  life  on 
the  earth.  The  movements  of  the  stars  and 
the  regularity  of  the  seasons  are  in  no  way 
affected  by  the  fact  that  our  knowledge  of  the 
celestial  worlds  is  so  limited.  So  it  is  respect- 
ing God,  duty,  and  human  destiny.  We  can- 
not comprehend  the  nature  of  the  Infinite  God, 
but  we  know  the  new  strength  that  comes  into 
a  life  when  the  human  will  is  brought  into 
harmony  with  the  divine  will.  We  cannot  ex- 
plain the  mystery  of  the  incarnation,  but  we 
find  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ  an  unapproached 
revelation  of  the  mercy  of  God.  We  cannot 
explain  the  mystery  of  sorrow,  but  we  see  in 
the  experience  of  life  things  working  together 
for  good  to  them  that  love  God.  The  Christian 
believer  reverently  says:  "What  sin  and  sorrow 
and  death  may  mean,  I  do  not  know;  but  I 
have  passed  from  death  unto  life.  I  know  the 
peace  of  God  which  passeth  understanding.  I 
have  entered  into  the  life  which  is  infinitely 
worth  while."  The  certainty  and  satisfaction 
of  these  great  spiritual  experiences  are  in  nowise 
102 


LIMITATIONS  OF  KNOWLEDGE 

affected  by  what  we  do  not  know.  The  ex- 
perience of  religion  is  not  invalidated  by  our 
lack  of  complete  knowledge  about  religion. 

There  is  another  statement  concerning  the 
limitations  of  religious  knowledge  which  is  of 
immense  practical  value,  namely,  What  we  do 
know  is  the  usable  part  of  knowledge.  All 
knowledge  is  more  or  less  valuable,  but  the 
essential  knowledge  is  that  which  is  used  in 
the  living  of  life.  A  little  child  of  only  a  few 
years  bounds  into  the  arms  of  his  father.  He 
knows  but  little  of  his  father's  occupation  or  his 
companions,  or  the  real  problems  of  his  father's 
life.  But  he  knows  his  father,  and  out  of  this 
acquaintance  rises  the  child's  beautiful  confi- 
dence. Though  his  knowledge  of  his  father 
may  be  little,  what  he  knows  is  the  usable  part. 
Many  a  Christian  disciple  of  limited  theological 
knowledge  finds  infinite  comfort  in  the  invita- 
tion of  the  Master:  "Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that 
labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you 
rest."  The  question  of  first  importance  is:  Has 
he  done  it?  What  does  one  really  most  need 
to  know  in  religion?  That  God  is  an  Almighty 
Father,  that  he  lives  and  cares  for  his  every 
103 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

child;  that  man  may  be  delivered  from  the 
guilt  and  power  of  sin;  that  human  sorrow  may 
be  sanctified  and  converted  into  blessing;  that 
the  life  after  death  inspires  the  life  here  with 
courage  and  hope.  We  do  not  need  to  com- 
prehend the  mystery  of  the  Trinity  or  of  the 
incarnation;  we  do  not  need  to  know  the  occu- 
pation of  the  angels  and  the  redeemed.  These 
things  would  not  make  for  courage  and  fortitude 
and  trust.  We  do  need  to  know  that  Infinite 
Mind  is  back  of  all  things,  and  that  Infinite 
Heart  is  in  all  things.  What  we  know  is  real 
and  reliable,  even  though  it  is  not  all. 

Now,  if  the  above  contentions  are  true,  the 
important  thing  is  to  postpone  the  considera- 
tion of  the  nonessentials  in  religion  and  begin 
to  use  what  we  know.  The  moral  imperative  of 
living  the  best  life  we  see — Jesus's  kind  of  life — 
is  inescapable.  The  need  of  a  guide  and  helper 
is  always  with  us.  None  better  than  Jesus  has 
ever  been  found.  Every  philosophy  of  prayer 
may  be  unsatisfactory,  but  there  is  certain  help 
in  prayer.  Every  theory  of  inspiration  may  be 
inadequate,  but  there  is  comfort  and  strength 
in  reading  the  Bible.  Arguments  for  immor- 
104 


LIMITATIONS  OF  KNOWLEDGE 

tality  may  not  seem  conclusive,  but  there  is 
immense  advantage  in  facing  the  fact  that 
what  a  man  sows  he  shall  also  reap.  All  this 
we  know.  It  is  only  a  part,  but  it  is  the  part 
supremely  worth  while,  because  it  is  usable  and 
leads  to  the  abundant  life. 


105 


XII 
THE    GOAL   OF   CHRISTIAN   CULTURE 

AN  all-round  man.  The  phrase  is  not  a 
scriptural  one,  but  it  happily  describes 
a  New  Testament  type  of  character.  In  his 
vigorous  style  the  apostle  Paul  characterizes  the 
Christian  as  a  "full-grown  man."  He  sees  in 
the  symmetrical  life  of  the  Master  the  ideal  of 
every  complete  life.  The  New  Testament  por- 
trait of  Jesus  presents  always  a  man  of  poise 
and  balance.  The  parts  of  his  nature  were  so 
symmetrically  developed  that  it  is  difficult  to 
characterize  him.  In  him  all  the  elements  of 
human  nature  came  to  such  normal  and 
complete  development  that  the  master-minds 
and  the  saints  of  the  ages  adoringly  cry, 
"Behold  the  Man!"  There  is  a  certain 
balance  of  human  qualities  which  produces 
poise  and  symmetry  of  life.  There  is  a 
certain  adjustment  of  physical  forces  which  re- 
sults in  equilibrium.  So  there  may  be  such  an 
106 


THE  GOAL  OF  CHRISTIAN   CULTURE 

harmonious  unfolding  of  one's  faculties  and  such 
a  relation  of  all  one's  powers  as  to  make  an 
all-round  man. 

The  final  aim  of  both  education  and  religion 
is  to  produce  a  fully  developed,  symmetrical 
manhood.  The  distinctive  task  of  Christian 
culture  is  to  reproduce  the  Christ-type — a  "full 
grown  man."  In  the  face  of  this  aim  of  Chris- 
tian education  no  fact  of  life  is  more  evident 
than  this:  that,  in  the  main,  men  and  women 
lack  symmetrical  development.  The  average 
man  is  one-sided,  overdeveloped  in  some  parts 
and  lacking  development  in  others.  The  man 
of  poise  whose  whole  nature  has  grown  to  ma- 
turity is  a  rare  type.  A  physical  deformity  is 
not  a  common  spectacle,  and  is  always  an 
object  of  pity.  But  the  underdevelopment  or 
the  overdevelopment  of  a  physical  organ  is  of 
small  moment  in  comparison  with  an  intellectual 
or  spiritual  deformity.  No  task  is  more  diffi- 
cult, and  none  so  important  as  to  give  har- 
monious and  well-rounded  development  to  all 
the  human  faculties.  Indeed,  it  seems  that 
weakness  in  some  of  the  powers  of  the  soul  is 
the  price  which  must  be  paid  for  strength  in 
107 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

other  faculties.  For  example,  the  nature  that 
is  full  of  enthusiasm  easily  runs  into  fanaticism. 
The  temperament  rich  in  emotion  easily  de- 
generates into  hysteria.  The  practical  are  al- 
ways in  danger  of  becoming  prosy  and  dull. 
The  courageous  are  apt  to  become  reckless. 
The  man  of  prudence  is  peculiarly  tempted  to 
cowardice.  Originality  easily  passes  into  ec- 
centricity, and  sympathy  into  sentimentalism. 
Even  piety  must  guard  against  superstition  or 
sanctimoniousness.  Any  quality  which  enters 
into  strong  character  developed  beyond  a  cer- 
tain limit  becomes  a  defect.  Many  a  vice  is 
only  an  exaggerated  virtue.  And  many  of  the 
evil  characteristics  of  life,  the  ugly  faults  and 
failings  of  human  nature,  are  the  result  of  a 
lack  of  development  of  the  good  qualities.  The 
beauty  and  erTectivensss  of  many  a  life  are 
marred,  not  by  outright  sin  and  base  wicked- 
ness alone,  but  also  by  immaturity  or  a  one- 
sided growth.  How  frequent  the  spectacle  of 
one  noble  quality  being  exalted  at  the  sacrifice 
of  another,  so  as  to  result  in  an  impaired  man- 
hood. A  noted  preacher  once  said:  "There  are 
two  young  men  who  walk  our  streets,  both  of 
108 


THE  GOAL  OF  CHRISTIAN   CULTURE 

whom  have  their  admirers,  each  of  whom  seems 
in  some  eyes  to  be  an  admirable  fulfillment  of 
humanity;  both  of  whom,  judged  by  the  fullest 
judgment,  are  pitiable  failures.  One  of  them 
is  the  young  student  who  has  burned  out  the 
strength  of  his  body  in  the  midnight  oil.  The 
other  is  the  young  athlete  who  has  given  away 
to  muscle  the  care  and  culture  that  were 
meant  for  mind.  The  staggering  scholar  and 
the  stupid  athlete,  what  failures  they  both  are! 
What  sad  and  helpless  fragments  of  humanity!" 
Over  against  these  and  all  other  distorted  and 
one-sided  men  we  need  to  set  the  all-round  and 
complete  life  of  The  Man.  He  "advanced  in 
wisdom"— intellectual  power;  "and  stature"— 
physical  development;  "and  in  the  favor  of 
God  and  men" — spiritual  capacity  and  social 
grace,  until  he  came  to  a  full-orbed,  symmetrical 
manhood. 

Now,  it  is  because  of  the  fine  balance  of  his 
faculties  that  it  is  so  difficult  to  characterize 
Jesus  as  a  man.  He  was  burning  with  en- 
thusiasm, but  he  never  became  fanatical.  His 
great  heart  was  throbbing  with  emotion,  but 
he  never  became  hysterical.  His  mind  was 
109 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

aglow  with  imagination.  He  saw  truths  and 
worlds  and  human  possibilities  hidden  from 
other  eyes,  but  he  never  became  flighty  and 
visionary.  He  was  intensely  practical  and  sane, 
but  never  prosaic  and  dull.  He  was  the  em- 
bodiment of  noble  courage,  but  never  reckless; 
prudent,  but  never  cowardly;  original,  but 
never  eccentric.  Out  of  his  heart  poured  forth 
vast  streams  of  human  sympathy,  but  he  never 
became  sentimental.  He  was  pious  with  never 
a  suggestion  of  sanctimoniousness.  He  was 
profoundly  religious,  living  constantly  in  close 
communion  with  God,  but  with  never  a  trace 
of  superstition.  Undertake  to  characterize  his 
temperament  so  as  to  catalogue  him  with  other 
men,  and  you  realize  that  his  development  was 
so  symmetrical,  his  faculties  were  so  finely 
balanced,  that  we  cannot  characterize  him  as 
being  distinctly  intellectual,  sympathetic,  ener- 
getic, emotional,  nor  practical.  He  stands  in 
history  as  the  one  full-orbed,  symmetrical  Man. 
Note  how  the  poise  of  Jesus  is  exhibited  in  his 
teaching.  The  words  of  Jesus  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment always  leave  one  impression.  They  are 
the  utterances  of  a  man  so  complete  in  his  de- 
110 


THE  GOAL  OF  CHRISTIAN  CULTURE 

velopment  as  to  see  the  various  interests  of 
human  life  in  their  proportion.  The  Master 
always  saw  the  big  things  of  life  as  big,  and  the 
little  things  as  little.  He  focused  men's  atten- 
tion upon  the  great  things.  He  cries  to  the 
multitude:  "Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God 
and  his  righteousness,"  and  yet  he  is  not 
indifferent  to  the  hunger  of  the  crowds  that 
follow  him.  He  is  about  to  institute  the  me- 
morial sacrament  of  the  Christian  Church,  but 
he  pauses  to  make  comfortable  the  tired  and 
dusty  feet  of  his  disciples.  He  hangs  a-dying 
on  the  cross  for  the  world's  redemption,  but  he 
does  not  fail  to  make  provision  for  his  mother's 
future  home  in  the  family  of  John.  He  is 
teaching  men  about  God,  human  salvation,  and 
eternal  destiny,  but  he  does  not  forget  the  little 
children,  the  heart-broken  widows,  the  helpless 
cripples,  and  the  beggars  along  the  way.  He 
opens  men's  eyes  to  the  unspeakable  glories  of 
other  worlds,  but  he  will  never  let  them  forget 
that  their  feet  are  standing  on  the  earth.  The 
glory  of  Jesus  is  that  he  not  only  saw  the  truths 
of  life,  great  and  small,  the  interests  of  human 
life,  eternal  and  temporal,  the  relations  of 
111 


RELIGION  AND  THE  MIND 

human  life,  divine  and  social,  but  he  saw  all 
these  things  in  their  right  proportion. 

Now  it  is  this  ability  to  appreciate  the  varied 
interests  of  human  life  that  is  the  distinction  of 
Christian  culture.  To  develop  the  mind  may 
greatly  increase  one's  ability  to  do,  and  to  ac- 
cumulate, and  to  control.  But  a  human  life 
is  narrow  and  barren  unless  it  has  developed  a 
broad  sympathy  for  men  and  a  Christlike  in- 
terest in  their  well-being.  But  stronger  than 
the  call  of  our  fellows  for  the  consecration  of 
culture  and  character  in  service  is  the  call  of  the 
Infinite  God  to  communion  and  faith  and  hope. 
Our  human  life  comes  to  its  fulfillment  only  in 
God.  The  all-round  life  cannot  be  separated 
from  the  earth,  nor  from  men,  nor  from  God. 
It  lives  in  the  world,  but  is  not  of  the  world. 
It  seeks  for  every  truth  of  science;  it  has  to  do 
with  every  interest  of  men;  it  soars  up  perpetu- 
ally to  do  with  heaven. 

This,  then,  is  the  goal  of  both  culture  and  faith 
— "To  attain  unto  a  full-grown  man" — in  whom 
both 

Mind  and  heart  according  well 
May  make  one  music  as  before, 
But  vaster. 

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